There is currently 1 person viewing this thread.
These 55 comments are related to the topic:
Labour poised to announce £100m levy on gambling companies
Labour poised to announce £100m levy on gambling companies
sort by:
Show
per page
Replies: 55
|
By:
The whole thing makes me see the similarity with moths
Moths getting caught up in the bright light of a bulb Nothing else matters to the moth, just as the arrogance of the losing punter can’t see the error of their actions and just keep head butting the bulb. So they get rid of bulbs. |
|
By:
Personally this is rather an easy non-complex predicament or relationship between horseracing and problem gambling. There's only a smidgeon between the two components, and easily resolved.
But, the principal adversary is the bookies in particular their reluctance to admit fobt - their chief money earner and most addictive as culprit; the fobts in high street shops, online and mobile. The bookies are the rulers - the king and decision makers of fobt and horseracing. Other components have been playing to their tunes including The Gambling Commission over the past 2 decades. If one takes the bookies out of the equation of finding a solution to problem gambling, and only focuses on the remedy problem gambling could be significantly reduced eg ban bookies adverts on tv, online and mobile; introduce a gaming licence for fobt and online games to reflect the digital age; only non-bookie sponsorship of horseracing and programme to promote the sport. At the moment the costs to society and government from problem gambling is significantly higher than the proceeds from bookies to the Exchequer. More has to be done to reflect this ever-increasing financial discrepancy; the bookies need to pay their fair share relative to their humongous profits generated from fobt. Tax accordingly and intelligently. The bookies cannot be allowed to dictate to the government. The shareholders of betting entities must not profit at the expense of the state and taxpayers. |
|
By:
@impossible123
"At the moment the costs to society and government from problem gambling is significantly higher than the proceeds from bookies to the Exchequer. " Which numbers are you using? A quick Google gave me numbers from Gov't for the cost to the state and society of problem gambling of £1.00bn to £1.77bn and gambling taxation revenue of £3.3bn. |
|
By:
Several factors seem to be leading in the same direction-less horse racing. At age 80 I may not see the demise of horse racing but many of the younger punters will.
|
|
By:
I fear you are right sageform. As the 50+ generation for which horseracing was their gateway to gambling fall off the perch, the numbers interested and playing will fall and the sport will contract.
|
|
By:
Gambling is not an addiction.It is the lure of money that is the addiction.
How many punters would continue to gamble if they got a cuddly toy every time they got a winner instead of cash profit.?  |
|
By:
There is something about putting down money (even £1) that sets it apart from just choosing a horse. No matter how hard I try, I don't get quite the same buzz from a race I have no bets on although I still enjoy watching races over fences no matter what the class of race or my financial gain or loss.
|
|
By:
Ditto sageform , i probably only watch around 5% of flat races and it's no coincidence those are the races i've played , as for jumping i probably watch 95% whether a bet or not.
|
|
By:
Which numbers are you using? A quick Google gave me numbers from Gov't for the cost to the state and society of problem gambling of £1.00bn to £1.77bn and gambling taxation revenue of £3.3bn.
The numbers are not that linear either, as gambling keeps tens of thousands employed (revenue stream for tax collectors), plus what is still a very large industry running (horse racing). Plus multiple ancillary services, catering, veterinary, breeding, sales and the likes. Bookies also fund multiple sports through sponsorship. It's also not a lot different to many other parts of life, where people fail and subsequently blame someone else for their own failure. A bit like the old 'mis-sold' loan chestnut. So one would be incredibly sceptical about the 'cost to the state' being accurate. |
|
By:
Everyone seems to have the view that there is a mysterious entity called "Them or They" whose job is to protect them from all of the unpleasant things in life such as having to go to work, illness, flooding, crime etc. All organisations from the UN to the EU, UK Government, local authorities, parish councils, charities consist of people just like you and me. They do not have supernatural powers to remove the nasty bits of life. It is up to INDIVIDUALS to look after themselves. The political tide is running against gambling. Most countries do have tighter regulations than us so it is not surprising that the pressure is on bookmakers, casinos etc. to be more responsible.
|
|
By:
By the same measure the sociopolitical tide is also against democracy; even the ones that are considered ‘full democracies’ and being dismantled from within while being flooded with people who culturally have no affiliation with it.
Gambling is just a single issue that uses the same method of control over perspective. They want the majority of those who do it to agree that their actions should be curtailed because there are failures in society who can’t control themselves, they want you to feel shame and guilt in accepting your foibles. If you don’t have skill you must have discipline. If you have neither you are at the whim of others. Ever more so as humans struggle to keep pace with technology, until they will all be reliant on it and it will be impossible to better. |
|
By:
This is just the direction society is going in. So all young children get 'free' meals in school because there are people that manage to breed and are not capable of feeding their own (often feral) offspring. Policy is now determined by the lowest common denominator. Which, in my experience, is very low indeed.
|
|
By:
True Cider and so of course are safeguards like bank security. It only needs one employee out of hundreds to be dishonest or incompetent for the whole thing to fall over. On the last 3 occasions that we have bought stuff using Amazon Prime, we have had a phone call within hours telling us that our credit card is compromised and £300 has been withdrawn. Clearly a scam but equally clearly the scammer has access to the details of Amazon Prime customers including their landline number and card issuer and when they are active on the site. There is no such thing as a secure website.
|
|
By:
If governments try to curtail gambling,crime would go through the roof,people love money and will do anything and i mean anything to get get their hands on .it.Gambling is a legal way of obtaining it.Governments better beware.
if its not broken dont try to fix it.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
|
By:
The current mob in Westminster will hasten the Nanny State exponentially.
They think they know what's best for us without ever fully understanding the subject at hand or the consequences of their actions. |
|
By:
You're right, brassneck. When I lived in Canada the Govt. had the bright idea of raising tobacco
tax by 40%. Within weeks you could walk into pretty well any pub in the centre of town and find a bloke selling black market cigs at half the price. |