Betting chain that Farage once represented is targeting immigrants

A high-street betting chain is targeting ethnic minority communities with controversial fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs), according to new research from a fair gambling charity.

The research from the Campaign for Fairer Gambling (CFFG) shows that 61 per cent of Paddy Power’s 327 betting shops are located in areas with above average levels of non-UK born population, such as Newham and Brent in London and parts of Birmingham, Slough and Leicester.

The disclosure that Paddy Power stores operating FOBTs are more common in areas with large non-UK born communities has angered campaigners and led to criticism of Ukip leader Nigel Farage who appeared in a tongue-in cheek-advert for the firm last year.

Adrian Parkinson, a former betting industry insider and consultant for the CFFG, said that the figures “confirmed” what many in the industry have long suspected about Paddy Power and that it was placing its shops where it could make the “highest profits” from lucrative but controversial FOBTs.

These touch-screen roulette-style machines have been dubbed the “crack cocaine of gambling” and can swallow up to £100 every 20 seconds leading to them being linked with crime and anti-social behaviour; campaigners fear they act as a “gateway” to harder forms of gambling.

It is blatantly clear to me that Paddy Power has a development strategy that was based on targeting those areas producing the highest profits on FOBTs and invariably those areas had a demographic mix with a high number of ethnic minorities, particularly Asian and Chinese. In more recent years that mix has been added to by eastern European immigrants with the Poles figuring prominently.

• Adrian Parkinson, Campaign For Fairer Gambling consultant

The new research from the CFFG will be embarrassing for Ukip leader Nigel Farage after he appeared in a television advert for Paddy Power in September.

Labour’s Thomas Docherty MP, who is bringing forward a Private Members Bill in Parliament to give local authorities the power to cap the number of betting shops in their area, said:

Nigel Farage should be ashamed that he jumped into bed so quickly with a company that is cynically making a profit off the back of Britain’s ethnic minority and most impoverished communities.

• Thomas Docherty, Labour MP

A spokesman for Ukip told i100.co.uk it was aware of the “threat” posed by FOBTs and that it would be bringing forward a policy on them in its manifesto. They added: “Nigel Farage took part in the advert about the Ryder Cup as a bit of fun and to underline his support for the European golf team, nothing more, nothing less."

The research also comes after a report published last week by the Responsible Gambling Trust which found that “there is a strong prevalence of non-white minority ethnic groups in close proximity” to betting shops operating FOBTs.

Paddy Power is one of the smallest betting operators on the high street, however it operates 61 per cent of its shops in the 40 council boroughs with the highest ranking of mixed, non-UK born residents, where the figure for market leader William Hill is just 33 per cent.

A spokesperson for Paddy Power told i100.co.uk: “We do not target areas based on ethnicity. Like every other retailer our shops are located where there is high customer demand for our services.

"As a relatively new entrant to the market, with less than 4 per cent of the UK’s betting shops and without the historical estate of our competitors, this tends to be in urban areas with dense populations.”

More: Two of the worst things in the world came together and it's quite funny