Bookmakers acknowledged the use of judicial review strategy as the “last resort.”
As the UK government attempts to bring down the maximum stake on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) to £2, bookmakers are in the process of preparing diverse strategies to halt the new regulation from coming into force. However, the representatives of operators are going with the idea that the judicial review strategy would only be used as a “last resort.”
As commented by an anonymous source of UK bookmakers “It would always be a last resort and only if it was clear the decision was not being taken on the evidence.”
The racing post states “A judicial review is a type of court proceeding in which a judge reviews the lawfulness of a decision or action made by a public body and are a challenge to the way a decision has been made, rather than the rights and wrongs of the conclusion reached.”
Licensed bookmakers in the UK are bracing for impact as the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is preparing three options for the maximum stake limit to be set on FOBTs. The current limit is £100 every 20 seconds and could be dropped to £2 (as proposed by the Labour party), £50 (which is the most appealing to bookies) and one between £10 and £30.
