An Aberdeen MSP has called for the lowering of a maximum bet on controversial Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBT) to £2.
Aberdeen Central SNP member Kevin Stewart, called the Gambling Commission’s recommended £30 bet ‘farcical’.
Mr Stewart pledged his support for the £2 maximum bets at an event in the Scottish Parliament organised in conjunction with the Westminster All Party Parliamentary Group on FOBTs.
He was previously the Convenor of Holyrood’s local government and regeneration committee in 2015 when it called for FOBTs to be banned from high street bookies.
The terminals have previously been called the “crack cocaine of gambling” due to the ease of betting large amounts in little time.
Earlier this month, the Gambling Commission recommended a cap of no more than £30 for the casino-style electronic games which allow new bets to be placed every 20 seconds.
Mr Stewart said: “We already know that £9million was lost in Aberdeen alone on these terminals in 2016, and there have been tragic consequences as a result of the massive financial losses.
“These addictive terminals hit some of the most financially vulnerable people in our communities.
“These machines should really be banned, but if they must remain, then the maximum bet should be as low as possible.”
