Crack cocaine’ betting machines to hit arcades
Amusement arcades are being converted into betting shops in order for highly addictive gambling machines to be installed, The Independent on Sunday has reported. The fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) allow gamblers to bet up to £100 every 20 seconds and have been dubbed the ‘crack cocaine’ of gambling. A Gambling Commission report earlier this month found that half of adult gaming centres (AGCs) allowed people under the age of 18 to use their machines without challenging them to prove their age. Emails seen by The Independent on Sunday revealed that the arcade industry is already converting arcades in order to use FOBTs. In Watford, part of an arcade owned by gaming firm Praesepe is being converted into a betting shop, allowing it to apply for licences for up to four FOBTs. Praesepe is the country’s fastest growing AGC operator, with 159 premises across the UK.
Referendum division will take time to heal, says moderator
More than a thousand people have attended a service for reconciliation in Scotland after last week's independence referendum. It was led by the Church of Scotland moderator at Edinburgh's St Giles Cathedral. Rt Revd John Chalmers told the congregation, including Scotland's Finance Secretary John Swinney and Labour's shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander there would be no quick fix. He said: ‘The Church here and in congregations across the country are playing their part in making it a little easier to stretch out that hand of friendship to those who are our fellow Scots who did not support the side we supported. How we voted on one particular day does not define who we are. How we work together to put in place the democratic will of the Scottish people will be defining - both for us as individuals and for us as we work to redefine our place within the United Kingdom.’
Disability hate crimes
Data from Crime Survey England and Wales estimate that, on average, 62,000 people per year are discriminated against on the grounds of their disability. Home Office statistics reveal police recorded 1,841 reports of disability hate crime in 2012-13, with 810 incidents going to court. This led to 349 convictions, but only seven of these resulted in an increased sentence with the victim's disability being considered an aggravating factor. Reviews by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary show that police often feel uncomfortable asking an individual about their disability and that not enough officers are trained to deal with people with learning disabilities. Kelly, one of the thousands of disabled abuse victims, said, ‘I'm getting bullied in the shops, when I walk home and then I get bullied in the pubs’. After a passer-by poured a fizzy drink over Kelly in the street, she says the police officer's response was ‘Just ignore it.’
Parliament 'set to be recalled' over Islamic State action
Parliament is expected to be recalled on Friday to discuss the UK's role in air strikes against the Islamic State, the BBC understands. There has been no official confirmation but an announcement could come later. It is understood there has been a reluctance to make the announcement while Labour's conference is under way. There has now been a formal request from the Iraqi Prime Minister for the UK to join in air strikes. David Cameron told NBC News in the US that the fight against the Islamic State (IS) militants was one ‘you cannot opt out of’. IS has taken control of large areas of Iraq and Syria in recent months. ‘It has oil, it has money, it has territory, it has weapons and there's no doubt in my mind it has already undertaken and is planning further plots in Europe and elsewhere’, Mr Cameron said.
