Three of the four big high street bookmakers have signed up to a new voluntary watchdog in the hope of preempting a raft of tough statutory measures that threaten the prevalence of betting shops, high-speed roulette machines and aggressive punter-recruitment adverts promising "free money".
William Hill, Ladbrokes and Coral, together with the smaller competitor Paddy Power, have promised from next month to remove all adverts for touch-screen roulette machines from their windows and to dedicate a fifth of the space to responsible gambling messages.
They have also said they will refrain from advertising sign-up offers that suggest new players can obtain "free bets" or "free money" before 9pm.
From the start of next year, through a new trade body called the Senet Group, they will fund an educational advertising campaign on problem gambling and ensure all their TV adverts carry more prominent responsible gambling messages.
Campaigners against betting shop roulette machines – also known as fixed odds betting terminals, or FOBTs – were quick to condemn the initiative. A spokesman from the Campaign for Fairer Gambling said: "The bookmakers are engaging in desperate conjuring tricks to protect their FOBT market monopoly and, put simply, this is just more smoke and mirrors.
"If the Gambling Commission was fit for purpose there would not be the need for a watchdog. But for any such watchdog to have credibility it should be neither industry-run nor industry-funded."
The industry continues to face regulatory challenges on several fronts. Foremost among them are measures under consideration by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport that would make it harder for roulette machine players to place impulsive bets of more than £50 on one spin of a wheel.
Until now, punters have been able to stake as much as £100 per spin, and regulatory data suggests wagers of between £50 and £100 account for 7% of bets, and as much as 37% of gross profits from players.
Ministers have resisted campaigners' calls for a simple reduction of the maximum stake, instead preferring a measure that would require high-stakes players to seek permission of shop staff before the bet is accepted.
The Gambling Commission, the industry's main regulator, is consulting on tough new licensing standards that could include a social responsibility code and advertising restrictions. Separately, planning reforms could lead to betting shops being put into a new use class, potentially making it harder to secure permission for new sites.
The establishment of the Senet Group echoes pro-active moves by the Portman Group, the drinks industry trade body, to set voluntary standards on branding and advertising and to fund awareness-raising adverts, in the face of public concern about binge drinking.
Family-owned Betfred, which has 1,375 betting shops after buying state-owned Tote shops three years ago, is not a signatory to the Senet Group, but a spokesman said the business remained in discussions about signing up. The bookmakers are hopeful that online operators will also get involved.
James Henderson, chief executive of William Hill, said: "The launch of the Senet Group sets a benchmark by which we and the betting industry can be judged."
A Ladbrokes spokesman said: "This is about striking the balance between a player's right to bet and the visibility of gambling on the high street and on TV. We accept that the balance has not been right in the past."