Why are Gambling Machines Addictive?

Panorama

12th September 2016 Season 64 Episode 28

Wendy Bendel's partner killed himself after struggling with a 20-year gambling addiction. In a confession he wrote for Wendy, he singled out the high-stakes, high-frequency fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) found in bookmakers across the UK. Wendy embarks on a journey to find out what it is about the design of the machines that makes them so addictive and sees evidence that they can affect the brains of long-term gamblers. She discovers the billions they generate has divided the industry, with former insiders now accusing the bookies of putting profits before people.

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Season 64 · Episode 29

Labour: Is the Party Over?

With the Labour leadership election less than a week away, BBC deputy political editor John Pienaar asks if Labour is on the brink of self-destruction. Panorama spent the summer in Brighton, on the frontline for the battle for the soul of Labour, where local activists slog it out for control of the party. In one corner, Momentum fights off ugly allegations of bullying, anti-Semitism and hard-left entryism. In the other, the party's 'moderates' fear election annihilation and deselection. The programme follows both sides through the ups and downs of the campaign and finds neither side in the mood for compromise.

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