Bookies on Merseyside now have more than 1,000 “crack cocaine” gambling machines, figures reveal.
Fears are growing of a government U-turn on a promised clampdown on the controversial fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) that line betting shops across the country.
Gamblers lose around £1.2bn a year on Merseyside’s 1,005 machines, according to campaign group Stop the FOBTs, which is alarmed by how rapidly they hoover up cash.
