Although an announcement of fresh stakes and prizes for the UK AWP industry was promised 'in the next two weeks' by a government spokesman at the BACTA Convention, that was three weeks ago and the British industry is now becoming more desperate for some form of relief.
It is widely anticipated that the new levels would move to a maximum £1 stake and £70 prize, hopefully in time for some manufacturers to have machines on these levels ready for the London shows.
In The Times yesterday, BACTA president Nick Harding called for the new levels in stakes and prizes ‘without political dithering,’ which he said had beset the British industry for many years. Without it, 30,000 jobs would be at risk. He said that the 2005 Gambling Act introduced greater regulation for land-based operators, yet none for the online casino operators. This had ‘distorted the market,’ shifting the balance in favour of some sectors at the cost of others, yet imposing greater fees.
"Put together with an economy entering recession, changes in consumer leisure patterns and the smoking ban, the industry has been brought to its knees." He said that the decline in income across the industry is about £108m a year. Seaside arcade revenues are down 21 per cent with 136 reported closures since July 2007.
"Since 2005, when the Gambling Act was supposed to usher in a new era for our industry, manufacturing output in this sector has decreased by 55 per cent and more than 25 per cent of the manufacturing workforce have lost their jobs."
He said that the industry was not seeking a multi-million-pound cash bailout from the government, just the minor amendments to the Act, which would guarantee a future for the business and for which the industry had been asking for some time.
