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MPs urge clampdown on bookmakers' betting machines

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain should drastically reduce the limit on the amount of money gamblers can stake on fixed-odds-betting terminals to tackle problems in the industry, a committee of lawmakers said on Thursday. The stake should be reduced from 100 pounds to 2 pounds, they said, and the government should also consider reducing the speed of spin on the machines to reduce the amount wagered in a session. A fixed odds betting terminal is a touch screen machine found in betting shops that allows players to bet on the outcome of various games such as roulette with fixed odds. Charities have warned that the machines are highly addictive and can enable gamblers to lose hundreds of pounds in less than a minute. Shares in bookmaker William Hill and Ladbrokes Coral were trading down 8.3 percent and 7.8 percent, respectively, after the lawmakers published their interim findings. A final report will be published in January. (Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Kate Holton)