John Bollom, the outgoing National President of Bacta, will be closing his presidential term shortly with a battle cry for the industry, brought on by a File on 4 report by the BBC. Here, Bollom authors an Op-Ed for Coinslot challenging the radio production and dispelling the myths recounted in the dicumentary.

Once again, Adult Gaming Centres have been in the headlines. And once again, the usual suspects have looked down their noses and decreed that our members are the irresponsible poor cousins of the gambling industry.

This time the allegations were that the self-exclusion scheme is ineffective, based on a reporter carrying out an unrepresentative investigation in a small number of premises in Portsmouth.

It’s the latest in a series of attacks that seek to undermine our industry at a time when we are now becoming an essential part of many High Streets.

We’re working with the Gambling Commission, with local authorities, with MPs, with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and with the media to build the profile of our industry and present a fair and balanced account of the benefits that AGC’s bring to Britain.

AGCs are community hubs. They’re fun to spend time in. They are comfortable, hospitable and inviting social spaces. They create jobs. They bring footfall to High Streets, boosting other industries such as retail and hospitality. They provide life to empty shops, and contribute heavily to the local economy in terms of tax and employment. Personally, and professionally, I am proud of what we do.

And part of that pride comes because I know all of us realise our collective responsibility to maintain the highest possible standards in all that we do, and especially in player protection.

This week has shown the glee with which our critics seize upon any perceived lapse in this protection. It means we all have to pull together to ensure all loopholes are tightened, that supervision is vigilant, and action is taken without hesitation. When we make mistakes we need to fix them.

A multi operator self-exclusion system (MOSES) must be in place in every venue, offering customers the ability to self-exclude from facilities for the same type of gambling in the locality. 

Operators must ensure staff operate the MOSES system. Colleagues must be able to access a tablet or other device and be able to carry out self-exclusions in the venue on that device. Staff must look at the pictures of self-excluders every day, and react appropriately when one enters the venue.

Looking ahead, I can see there will be more scrutiny of our industry, and we welcome that – so long as it is fair and unbiased. But let me bust some myths right here.

The number of AGCs has not “exploded” on the High Street:

The Gambling Commission’s own statistics show that the number of AGCs has gone down by 35 percent since 2011. We’re on High Streets because that’s where our customers want us.

AGCs are not open 24 hours a day in order to extract as much money as possible:

Opening hours reflect customer demand. Around 9m people are night time workers in the UK, or nearly a third of the entire working population. AGCs provide entertainment and friendly faces when many other social spots are shuttered up until the morning.

Problem gambling is not rapidly increasing:

The vast majority of AGC customers gamble in a safe, responsible, and fun manner. Since 2007 the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) has been used to estimate the prevalence of problem gambling in the UK. Rates have consistently been in the range of 0.3 percent to 0.7 percent.  This is a small minority of people, but nonetheless, we remain committed to ensuring they don’t slip through the safety net.

I hope these are of some help if and when any of you are challenged over what we do and why our bricks-and-mortar venues are of value to local communities.

Like all industries, people will ask questions and challenge us to be better – and this is no bad thing. And like all industries, there will always be snipers taking pot shots. Our focus, however, is creating and running great venues that bring pleasure to millions and form an essential part of every High Street.