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£12billion: That’s the staggering sum Britons now lose every year gambling. Pity politicians are too busy squabbling to care, writes DOMINIC LAWSON
By DOMINIC LAWSON FOR THE DAILY MAIL
PUBLISHED: 00:48, 4 July 2016 | UPDATED: 19:31, 4 July 2016Astonishing acts of self-mutilation afflicting both the Government and Opposition have so dominated the news that serious damage being done to society as a whole has been all but ignored.
Thus the latest details of the sums sucked out of the pockets of Britons by the gambling industry slipped out last Friday without the slightest comment.
They were astounding: according to the Gambling Commission, Britons lost about £12.6 billion in the 12 months to September 2015, an increase of almost 12 per cent on the previous year.
That is almost £500 for every household in the land — equivalent to about seven weeks’ worth of job-seekers’ allowance.
I put it in that context, because it is among the most deprived areas that the gambling companies have concentrated those soulless purveyors of false hope and addictive ruin — the fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs).
This turbo-charged electronic roulette was released onto our High Streets as a result of the Gambling Act of 2005. In that same measure, the Blair administration also legalised the promotion of gambling via television advertising.
It is a mystery how the then Chancellor, Gordon Brown, reconciled this with his conscience as a son of the Manse. Or perhaps not such a mystery: the Exchequer hoped to derive considerable extra revenues from taxation on greatly increased betting. It has not been disappointed. Last year, FOBTs raised £425 million for the Treasury.
Lethal
The costs to society, however, have become increasingly insupportable. Last week, Divorce Online, the site which logs all uncontested divorce petitions, revealed that gambling is now cited in no fewer than one in five such petitions as a reason for the break-up of the marriage — a dramatic increase over the figure only a few years ago, when only one in 15 such claims mentioned gambling as a cause.
Gambling has always been a cause of marital breakdown, but the FOBTs, which enable punters to risk as much as £100 per spin every 20 seconds, are a particularly lethal trap for addicts or those the industry would like to turn into addicts. And since divorce, especially when children are involved, tends to lead to an increase in benefits paid out by the Exchequer, this is part of the hidden cost of FOBTs.
The bookmakers insist they do nothing to encourage the public to become hooked on these machines. But the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme last month spoke to a former manager at Coral, who told how he had been instructed to offer perks to keep customers at the machines for as long as possible: ‘If we had a customer coming in their lunch hour, we had to make sure they didn’t waste time trying to get a cheese and ham roll instead of playing the machines. You could buy them a cheese and ham roll and have it ready for them.’
Another Coral manager revealed an email in which the company’s central operations department gave instructions on a new FOBT game called Big Banker: ‘Offer a demo … to whet their appetite … then encourage them to play with their own money. Once you have identified your target customers, it often helps if you use a “hook” to encourage them to play: “You like Big Banker, do you have our bonus card yet? It’s quick, it’s easy and it’s free.”
This ‘free’ bet is the standard method of hooking first-time customers. It appears over and over again in television advertisements for online gaming companies, even during live football matches, which will undoubtedly be watched by many under the age of 18.Children are also heavily exposed to similar gambling adverts on Twitter by firms such as Betfair and Paddy Power, even though the Advertising Standards Authority insists that gambling ads must have ‘particular regard for the need to protect children’. It is hardly surprising that Dr Henrietta Bowden-Jones, the founder of the National Problem Gambling Clinic, said there has been a marked rise in youngsters seeking help with gambling addiction.
Of the £12.6 billion lost by British gamblers last year, £3.6 billion was online — overtaking the £3.2 billion lost in betting shops.
The form of gambling which has been declining is the one which actually has the redeeming social function of bringing people together: bingo halls. There are now fewer than 600 of them across the country.
Online gambling, by contrast, is a solitary vice with none of the community-enhancing aspects of the bingo hall. Yet if you watch the advertisements for online gambling shown almost non-stop in the breaks on TV sports programmes, you will see films of laughing young people gambling on their smartphones while partying happily at a bar or at each other’s homes.
Havoc
It is a gross misrepresentation. If such adverts portrayed reality, they would show a young man sitting alone and unsmiling, too obsessed with the numbers flashing in front of him to think of anyone else.
Still, at least he would not be smashing up someone else’s property. The High Streets, by contrast, have seen increasing violence and havoc, as the inevitable losers take their impotent rage out on the FOBTs.
Last week, a freedom of information request to the Metropolitan Police extracted the information that bookies’ 999 calls to the police are increasingly commonplace. Last year there was an 11 per cent rise in such incidents, with the Met being called out no fewer than 11,998 times.
This, too, is part of the cost which must be set against the Exchequer’s gains from taxing these firms’ burgeoning profits.
A growing number of Tory MPs have been calling on the Government to limit the social damage caused by the FOBTs, but to no avail. The Department of Culture, Media and Sport is meant to conduct a review on the maximum stakes allowable on these machines every three years: there has been no such inquiry since 2010.
Conservative Party members should not fail to raise this with the would-be leaders about to solicit their vote, not least because the current Culture Secretary, John Whittingdale, is serenely indifferent to the pleas of those who call these machines ‘the crack cocaine of gambling’. As a guest of a gaming industry conference a few years ago, he told his delighted listeners: ‘People talk of [FOBTs] being the crack cocaine of gambling. I’m not even sure they’re the cannabis of gambling.’ Ha ha.
There might have been hope when, after last year’s general election, the MP for Chatham and Aylesford, Tracey Crouch, was given a ministerial role at the DCMS. In a Commons debate she had spoken of the ‘devastating impact that these high-risk, high-stake machines are having’ on her constituents. But there is no sign Ms Crouch has been allowed to challenge these interests now she has gained a ministerial red box.
Apoplexy
In fact, the entire political system has become a plaything of the gaming industry. Throughout the referendum campaign, my work email was inundated with press releases from betting firms, promoting their odds on who — out of Remain and Leave — would win. Oddly, even though the opinion polls suggested the race was a very close one, the betting market always had Remain heavily odds-on.
One very senior political adviser suggested to me that this was ‘a thin market, easy to rig’ and that the Remain campaign were encouraging wealthy supporters to bet heavily on their victory, so that their warnings of financial chaos on Brexit might be given a kind of market credibility.
In fact, the financial traders really did believe there was some predictive wisdom in the betting markets, which on the night of June 23 were suggesting a 90 per cent chance that Britain would vote Remain. This explains the extent of the collapse in sterling and shares immediately after the nation voted for Brexit — and the apoplexy this must have caused investors across the globe.
In other words, the odds put out by the likes of Ladbroke and William Hill actually fomented the global market panic that ensued when those odds were suddenly revealed to be wildly out of sync with reality.
Ladbrokes’ head of political betting, Matthew Shaddick, said with disarming candour: ‘Nobody at Ladbrokes’ HQ will be criticising the predictive power of our odds: they’ll be looking at the money we made.’
The same would go for William Hill, which took great pleasure in revealing that a London woman had chosen this firm to make her first-ever bet: a £100,000 punt on the UK voting to stay in the EU.
Another life damaged or destroyed. And they call it entertainment.
There are no "Systems".
Profit Forward : 497.50
Day 4:
Ayr 2.15 – Secret City – 50 e/w @ 11/2 – Lost -100
Wor 2.30 – Lost Legend – 50 e/w @ 9/2 – lost -100
Ayr 3.15 – Jonny Delta – 50 e/w @ 8/1 – Lost -100
Wor 4.10 – Carrigkerry – 100 win @ 7/2 – Lost -100Loss On Day : 400.00
Profit To Date : 97.50
Went into Mug mode today, glanced and picked an hour before racing. Picked 2, Lost legend and Jonny Delta, that I said to myself while looking at them, after both falling last time out and today both practically within walking distance of the tracks, that they were only out today for confidence runs and I still backed them.
There are no "Systems".
Mission Complete’s run last time, was too bad to be true, to my eyes anyway. He’s a horse that is always well rested between races, so it was surprising, you never can rely on that crew.
I fancy Kilcascan to run a big race and have just had a 5 e/w for an interest. Good Luck if you did have a bet.
There are no "Systems".
Cheers Ray, see you’re holding your own also with your bets, nice one.
Some for Today.
Ayr 2.15 – Secret City – 50 e/w @ 11/2
Wor 2.30 – Lost Legend – 50 e/w @ 9/2
Ayr 3.15 – Jonny Delta – 50 e/w @ 8/1
Wor 4.10 – Carrigkerry – 100 win @ 7/2
Good Luck today lads.
There are no "Systems".
Profit Forward : 352.50
Day 3:
Mar 2.05 – Safari Journey – 50 e/w @ 16/1 – 2nd @ 22/1 +170
Lim 2.45 – Lord Ben – 50 e/w @ 12/1 – Lost -100
Naa 3.00 – Al Mohalhal – 100 win @ 7/4 – Won +175
Mar 3.10 – What A Laugh – 50 e/w @ 9/1 – Lost -100Profit On Day : 145.00
Profit To Date : 497.50
There are no "Systems".
Sunday:
Mar 2.05 – Safari Journey – 50 e/w @ 16/1
Lim 2.45 – Lord Ben – 50 e/w @ 12/1
Naa 3.00 – Al Mohalhal – 100 win @ 7/4
Mar 3.10 – What A Laugh – 50 e/w @ 9/1
Good Luck to all with your betting.
There are no "Systems".
Results so far:
Day 1:
Don 2.00 – Captain Swift – 50 e/w @ 16/1 – Lost -100Day 2:
Lei 2.05 – Motdaw – 100 win @ 5/2 – Won @ 9/4 (Rule4 15p) +212.50
Lei 2.40 – Dream Walker – 50 e/w @ 7/1 – Won @ 9/1 +540.00
Hay 2.50 – Barwick – 50 e/w @ 25/1 – Lost -100
Bel 4.50 – Waaheb – 50 e/w @ 7/1 – Lost -100
Car 8.35 – Rosemarie – 25 e/w @ 7/1 – Lost -50
Not 8.45 – Storm Lightning 25 e/w @ 40/1 – Lost -50Profit to date: 352.50
There are no "Systems".
Hay 4.00 – Clear Spring – 50 e/w 4/1 was a non runner
Gonna have a couple of bets to finish off the day:
Car 8.35 – Rosemarie – 25 e/w @ 7/1
Not 8.45 – Storm Lightning 25 e/w @ 40/1
There are no "Systems".
They don’t want to take a bet, simple as. FOBT’s provide Risk Free profits. Horseracing represents risk, it reduces profits due to greater staffing costs, single employee per shop is all they want now. UK High Street bookies are now seaside arcades, all that’s missing is that they haven’t changed the “Bet Here” and “Payout Only” signs over the Cashiers booth to a sign that says “Change Here” because they can’t, as they are issued with “Bookmaker” licences and they can’t make it too obvious that they are in fact, High Street Casinos hiding behind a licence for a trade that they don’t carry on.
There isn’t a more corrupt and rancid business, being operated anywhere today, bookies make bankers look like Saints. Regulation simply doesn’t exist, again an organisation has to be seen to be put in place, another smokescreen, to give the appearance of regulation. Laws are continuously being strenghtened and introduced in every area where corruption is exposed, in order to eliminate or reduce it from happening again, Company Law, Criminal Law etc., perpetrators are Struck Off for life or imprisoned, anyone found guilty of corruption within the Racing Industry, is given a slap on the wrist and welcomed back with open arms having served whatever minuscule punishment given, that’s if a blind eye hasn’t been turned to the blatantly obvious corruption in the first place, by those supposedly charged with it’s discovery and elimination. Bookies don’t live in fear of their ways being changed, why should they when MP’s are complicit in actively fighting for no change, despite those same MP’s having been seen to be beneficiaries of bookie hospitality, to put it mildly.
Arber, Arber, Arber or Bonus Bagger is their cry. Can someone please tell me how I can arb a free bet of X, a tiny amount that will equal my initial deposit to a limit and before I can withdraw a penny, I have to play through both X and my initial deposit, Y amount of times. If they say it often enough people they want to deceive will believe it. That’s provided they don’t just steal your initial deposit in the first place by reducing your stakes to pennies in order for you never to be able to play it through on your chosen sport, but you’re welcome to pop over to our Casino side and become a mug.
Terms and Conditions, PMSL. They don’t exist, what does exist is, “what we say goes and we will say different things about the same situation when and as often as we like” and the only factual and true thing you will find is that our decision is final and not explainable to you.
They are very responsible when it comes to keeping an eye out for those “nasty money launderers” online, placing dubious cookies on our computers, that report back our every move to them, that they say they don’t share amongst themselves. it’s a good job that they do this, afterall anybody can walk into a bank, open an account and lodge any amount that isn’t notified to the authorities over a set amount or unusual transaction activity. What’s that you say? The banks are doing this already. So the nice bookie chappies are just checking the banks are doing their job and not using our information. Phew, I can sleep tonight. Pity they aren’t so diligent in their shops, where I can wash sorry play my money in large amounts on the FOBT’s having lost some of it for the service provided.
Those traders they have aren’t the brightest, I was looking at a horse at the start the other day, he threw the jockey off twice and wouldn’t go in the stalls twice, any fool could see he wasn’t going to take part but those thick traders thought his behaviour would increase his chances of running and winning, because they cut his price, they must have felt foolish a minute later when he was withdrawn and then had to cut all the others prices. Another 2 bookies have really slow or lazy staff, everyday their prices are always lower than everyone elses and are always lower than when the live show comes in, but the staff never press the button for their prices to go live for a good few minutes after, but sometimes they’re not slow or lazy, because if the live show prices are lower than their prices, they press the button straight away. Suppose we all have our good and bad, slow and lazy days, after all they’re only subhuman.
Hate the thoughts of going to work tomorrow, the office only holds 15 comfortably but with me in, there will be 16 of us. The canteen only fits 7 but we go for break in groups of 8. The doctors is closed and I need a Doctors Cert, wish I could just write my own Self Cert and not turn up, imagine that. I’m sure my fellow employees would look after me for making their life more comfortable, shall we see, but they would have to be careful that nobody found out, especially the boss, I think he knows, he must see the regularity with which it occurs.
Be Lucky All if you manage to get on and remember screenshots are your friend and the Courts are there for any dispute resolution, the old myth of not being able to go to Court, is just that, a myth.
There are no "Systems".
The untouchables rule, then Geraghty further insults punters by looking over his shoulder before jumping the last, LOL. Boycie thinks that Waaheb was disappointing because he couldn’t get into the race, that fence must be massive that all these racing gravy trainers are sitting on.
There are no "Systems".
Hiya VTC, I backed him purely because at 7/1, I think that’s too big a price also. This may be a pipe opener for Galway for him after being off for 251 days and it wouldn’t surprise me if Geraghty has already memorised his excuse for the stewards and racing press.
There are no "Systems".
Lustrous a non runner in the Hay 2.15
Hay 2.50 – Barwick – 50 e/w @ 25/1
There are no "Systems".
Here’s a few videos from Youtube, might pass a bit of spare time for a few.
Arkle
Mick Kinane
The Real McCoy
Great Cheltenham Gold Cups
There are no "Systems".
3 bets for today:
Lei 2.05 – Motdaw – 100 win @ 5/2
Hay 2.15 – Lustrous – 50 e/w @ 28/1
Lei 2.40 – Dream Walker – 50 e/w @ 7/1
Good Luck to all today.
There are no "Systems".
