BACTA calls out Gambling Commission to stop illegal machine sales

Many of you #Slotters may dream of owning your own fruit machine or indeed some of you may already have them adorning your man cave! Under the gambling act 2005 you need to hold a license in order to legally own one of these machines. It is therefore illegal to buy and trade machines unless you hold a license.

Licenses have to be applied for through the #Gamblingcommissions website and depending on the machine and it’s use, there are different categories of license. There is a fee to pay and information to give to the commission about you and the machine.

BACTA have called on the Gambling Commission to start coming down harder on the illegal sales of countless machines.

Bacta’s regional compliance officer has revealed that the online sale of illegal machines is “significant and widespread throughout the country” as pressure mounts on the Gambling Commission to outline a credible regulatory response.

Bacta’s David Miller stated that online sales platforms such as Facebook Marketplace and Ebay are rife with unlawful machine sales, from antique one-arm bandits to Jackpot £500s – and everything in between.

A conservative estimate of the illegal number of machines on sale is, suggests Miller, “2,500, which is the equivalent of 60 arcades.”

“We’ve had a lot of concern expressed by Bacta members concerning the proliferation of illegal gaming machines,” said Miller, who has been researching the black market online.

“I went through the advertisements on Facebook Marketplace in order to ascertain how many there were out there, I stopped counting at 200 separate advertisements for machines. With a further 2,000 to 3,000 on Ebay, you start to get a feel for the number of machines that are being sold.”

Miller has been investigating the practice on behalf of Bacta since 2020, and though a dossier outlining his findings was sent directly to the Gambling Commission Intelligence Unit last August, he notes ,“I received an acknowledgement of the email, but that’s it.”

So where is the Commission? The 2005 Gambling Act behoves the regulator to prevent gambling from being associated with crime or disorder, ensure gambling’s conducted in a fair and open way, and protect children from being harmed or exploited by gambling.

However, Miller argues that – with regulation unable to govern who operates and who accesses these illegally obtained machines – the Commission “are falling down on all three of their own licensing objectives,” while leaving organisations like Bacta with an unmanageable burden.

Miller acknowledges that many people are keen to get their hands on the machines specifically to reverse engineer them and work out their mechanisms, which in itself is another key issue. But it’s not about the why they’re sold, it’s all about the fact they’re able to be sold – and so openly.

“It would be an impossible task for Bacta to attempt to pursue individual illegal sales, or individuals who are selling – I’d be doing nothing else for the rest of my career. We lack the investigative powers, and the costs of an investigation would be immense.”

“We need some form of ownership from the appropriate authorities, such as the Gambling Commission and the police service.”

Do you own a fruit machine? Have you got a license! What are your opinions on fruit machine sales? Comment below.

#OnetecCasinoLoungeDay is fast approaching. Remember you’ll be able to get a full live tour by our very own #Hairyslotters if you can’t get there yourselves, but Onetec’s will be the only place you’ll want to be to celebrate the end of lockdown on the 22nd May. Have you checked out #RememberingOnetecs on the Reel World Slots YouTube channel? A great series of videos all about the history of Onetec’s, leading up to Onetec Day on the 22nd of May. Why not join in and comment on the chat? Don’t miss a screening and support the channel by subscribing to the YouTube channel, smashing that like button and turning on those notifications!

Remember to get your online gaming on through our website. At the moment, exclusive to all you #Slotters, Dream Vegas are offering a 100% deposit match bonus up to £400 and 150 free spins! Dream Vegas is UK registered, a trusted game provider, with proven fast payouts. So join our #HairySlotters and the rest of the #ReelWorldSlots family and enjoy, safe, secure, reliable casino games with offers we know will make your gaming budget go much, much further. Just go to our website for further details and see other details.

Until next time Slotters -May the odds be ever in your favour.

The Shuff