12/10/2016 BBC Wales Today

Tonight's headlines: A Welsh MP calls for a review of fixed odds

And are you one of the landlords who could soon be breaking the law?

With weeks to go, thousands still aren't registered

They generate billions of pounds for the gambling industry

but tonight, there's a claim that some betting game machines

are causing serious damage to Welsh communities.

The Welsh MP who's leading an inquiry into the fixed odds

terminals is now calling for a UK government review of the machines,

which are found in bookmakers across the country.

With this special report, here's Gareth Bryer.

They're a central part of the gambling industry -

fixed odds betting terminals - touch-screen machines

where you can play casino games, like roulette or blackjack,

electronic slot games and virtual racing.

But unlike other slot machines, you can stake up to ?100 a bet.

After almost 50 years of problem gambling,

for this man, who wanted to remain anonymous,

His words are spoken by a member of our production team.

My son watched me put ?1500 in the machines one day

and he was physically shaking alongside me.

Once you're in that zone, nothing matters around you -

there's nothing that's more important than that machine,

like making you play, put more money in.

Now, a Swansea MP and chair of the Parliamentary group looking

at the machines says the government needs to do something.

We need to have an overhaul and review and hopefully come up

with a solution which will not suit the bookies but will help

all the associated problems with these machines.

When the bookies were on the high street and they were just doing

horse racing and dog racing, they were a part of the fabric

of a community, but now they've become the scourge of the community.

The betting terminals first appeared in 1999 and, last year,

customers across the UK lost a total of ?1.7 billion playing them.

Betting shops are restricted to four machines and,

as things stand, there are over 1400 terminals across Wales.

The UK Government has indicated it will conduct a review

of the machines and the maximum stake people can bet.

The industry accepts that that review is likely but say bookies'

It's very easy for the antigambling lobby to make really quite strong

These machines have been in shops for 15 years and they've

When the evidence comes before government, they come

to the same conclusion - that they should be there.

It was losing the money he'd saved for his grandchildren's Christmas

presents that prompted this problem gambler to break his habit.

I've been gamble-free for two years but the addiction of gambling

It will never disappear and the thought of going

into a betting shop is frightening because I know if I walk back

into a betting shop, those machines will make me

He made a break from his past but for other individuals

and an industry that's still at the heart of our high

A former Scout leader, who's already in jail for abusing

boys in the 1960s and 70s, has been given a further

Mold Crown Court heard how more victims of 70-year-old Martyn Tucker

came forward after seeing news reports of the previous case.

North Wales Police said they were horrific crimes and that

Tucker destroyed the childhood of his young victims.

The design of Swansea's Kingsway was a contributory factor

in the death of a 41-year-old woman, an inquest has heard.

Sergeant Louise Lucas died in March 2015 after being hit from behind

by a bus when she attempted to cross the road.

A road safety expert said it was likely Mrs Lucas momentarily

forgot about the unconventional layout of the Kingsway.

Since her death, metal barriers have been placed along

British Airways has confirmed it's consulting on plans to cut 66 jobs

at its maintenance base at Cardiff Airport.

The company says it's begun talks with staff and unions

about restructuring proposals to deliver a sustainable service.

There are fears that thousands of landlords will soon be breaking

the law when a new central licensing scheme comes into place.

Welsh Government figures suggest only one in four landlords have

undertaken the Rent Smart Wales training with the deadline

Here's our economics correspondent, Sarah Dickins.

Ffion Paschalis works for a Cardiff letting agency and shows me

The landlord has ten or 12 properties altogether.

He's converted this building into eight self-contained flats.

A mixture of two and one bedroom flats.

So that's someone who would be counted as a professional landlord?

Landlords and agents have to register within six weeks.

A central licensing scheme, Rent Smart Wales, has been set up

The scheme involves landlords being trained about their obligations

and responsibilities online or in a classroom and they get

Another option is not do the training, pay for a letting

agent but still register as a landlord.

Many landlords do not see themselves as businesses.

They just let out a home they've inherited or grown out of.

I fully agree with protecting tenants but there's not an awful lot

sometimes to protect landlords because there's an assumption

every landlord is bad and they have multiple properties.

I don't think Rent Smart has done a good job in helping to encourage

This is one of many events in which landlords are being

It takes eight weeks to be trained and registered for the scheme

so with six weeks before the government's deadline and three

quarters of landlords in Wales not registered that's quite a challenge.

The Residential Landlords Association says it advised

the Welsh government against this type of licensing.

It's incredibly bureaucratic and has proven not to be successful

Scotland hasn't taken up more than 15% of the problems.

The Welsh government hopes the scheme will increase

the reputation of the private sector here and attract more

There are a fair few accidental landlords in particular who have

maybe inherited property who aren't aware they have the same obligation

as someone who has maybe a hundred properties.

The fear is those people may find themselves the wrong side

Carmarthenshire County Council will write to an oil company,

calling for a six-figure sum in compensation after a pipeline

ruptured near the A48, releasing 140,000 litres of kerosene.

Valero is responsible for the pipeline, which runs

This weekend, the A48 will be closed for repair work.

Cardiff won't host a marathon until 2018 - a year later

Ten days ago, Run 4 Wales announced they would host a full marathon next

April but they now say they don't want to rush planning a route.

Derek, it's still feeling chilly out there?

It will be even cooler tomorrow with an easterly wind bringing one or two

showers, some sunshine as well. One or two showers about the night

otherwise, a dry story. Clear in the south and west and chilly,

down to five Celsius. We still have our blocking area of high pressure

over Scandinavia. That means easterly winds, one or two showers.

Otherwise dry. The best of the sunshine in the south and west.

Across the rest of the UK, showers will spread westwards in the UK. Dry

in the South of England, sunny spells there, sunshine in the North

West of Scotland. A cool easterly breeze tomorrow. Closer to home, a

mixture of sunshine and scattered showers. One or two shop showers.

Parts of the South and West will stay dry with sunshine. Cooler

tomorrow, 10-13dC. Scattered showers will die away to leave a dry night,

mist and fog patches forming and cold enough for a touch of ground

frost. The Wales Report is up next

but that's Wales Today. From everyone on the team,

goodnight.