The UK government’s triennial review of the gambling industry has proven far less decisive than industry stakeholders had feared and gambling critics would have liked.

On Tuesday, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) released its hotly anticipated review of the nation’s gambling operators, the key planks of which were expected to include new rules for gambling advertising, greater responsible gambling protections and significant reductions in the maximum stakes of betting shops’ fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBT).

On the FOBT front, the review does recommend a reduction from the current £100 maximum stake to one of four possible options: £50, £30, £20 or £2. The minimum time between spins may also be boosted from its current 20 seconds to one minute “to better reflect roulette in a casino.”

But in true government form, despite having three years to make a decision, the DCMS now says it requires a further three-month consultation with stakeholders to determine the best way forward. This consultation will extend to January 23, 2018.