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As racing lobbies the government against the so-called racing tax, the untrammelled greed of the betting industry threatens to undermine this as they looked the other way while asylum seekers used cards designed to pay for food to place bets instead, according to the Mail's front page lead.
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14934731/Asylum-seekers-using-taxpayer-handouts-fund-gambling-habits.html
Asylum seekers are using taxpayer handouts to fund their gambling habits: More than 6,000 migrants used government-issued cards loaded with £50 a week at betting shops and casinos in past year Asylum seekers are using taxpayer handouts to fund their gambling habits. Pre-paid cards given out to pay for basics including food and clothing are being used in gambling venues such as bookmakers, amusement arcades and even casinos, Home Office data shows. In the last year, up to 6,537 asylum seekers have used the government-issued cards at least once for gambling. |
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And so on and so forth. Later on in the Mail story is this explanation:-
So-called Aspen cards are issued to asylum seekers while they wait to have their claims dealt with – a process that can take months, or even years. Those in self-catered accommodation receive £49.18 on the card each week to pay for ‘clothes and footwear, non-prescription medicines, travel, food, non-alcoholic drinks, toiletries, laundry, toilet paper and communications’. The cards are currently issued to around 80,000 individuals who are waiting for a decision on whether they have a valid claim to stay in the UK. Many are living in hotels at the taxpayers’ expense. The Home Office last night said: 'The Home Office have begun an investigation into the use of Aspen cards. 'The Home Office has a legal obligation to support asylum seekers, including any dependants, who would otherwise be destitute.' The Home Office is able to track where the cards are used but does not block payments for particular types of transaction. The figures reveal that significant numbers of asylum seekers are now using the cards to gamble. The Home Office figures break down how many asylum seekers attempted to use their cards in gambling venues each week. They do not record how many times each individual attempted to use their card in that week. They show that an average of 125 asylum seekers a week used their cards with ‘gambling-related merchants’. |
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Let's not get carried away here; it is only 125 people a week betting less than £50 each. Small change in terms of government expenditure or bookies' takings.
But it is the political stupidity allied to greed of the betting industry that will give government the excuse it needs to make life harder for all of us, including the bookies. |
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fair play to them for getting on
 this will probably include scratch cards and casino games in bookmakers no different to those on benefits gambling,drinking,smoking but should easily be stopped if its all done by card |
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Yes, apparently these cards are already blocked on gambling websites.
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this fckd up planet is a joy to behold.
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From Politics Home, who originated the story:-
https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/asylum-seekers-using-taxpayer-funded-payment-cards-gamble Those living in ‘initial accommodation’ – usually fully catered hotels – are given £9.95 a week on their ASPEN card. When asylum seekers are moved to self-catered accommodation, they are given £49.18 a week. So £10 to £50 a week. At the highest incidence, 227 asylum seekers attempted to use or successfully used the cards to gamble in a week last November. 40 asylum seekers attempted to use or successfully used the cards to gamble in a week last July at the lowest. So 40 to 227 people a week. ASPEN cards operate on a chip and pin basis only, meaning the large majority of asylum seekers used them in physical sites such as casinos, slot machine arcades and national lottery retailers. While attempts to gamble online using the cards had been made, they were blocked each time. So call it 200 people spending £50 a week in shops, or £10,000 a week at most, and probably less. 100 people at £10 a week is just a grand. But that makes it worse that the shops have not blocked these cards just for the PR benefits. |
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Merkur (Nap).
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How many indigenous long term unworthy benefit claimants have used their money to gamble I wonder?
And why haven't the Daily Fail front-paged that? |
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Daily Mail usually banging on about the lack of integration - so these people have a go at behaving just like the indigenous population, blending into society and participating in everyday British high-street culture and they still get slated for it.
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According to the pro-gambling lobby (i.e. the online bookmakers), all gambling (and gaming) is the same, so doing your bollix on the slots is no different to having a day out at Royal Ascot - what could be more British than that!
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Who could have seen any of this coming?
Racing decided to go along with the big on-line bookmakers, refusing to differentiate itself from addictive games of chance throughout the White Paper consultation. All gambling is the same and we must just defend it all. Actually it was even worse than that - having conceded that all gambling is the same (the exact same stance taken by the anti-gambling lobby) we'll offer up our racing product (the defensible) to defend the indefensible. We can't get any slots/casino addicts to sign a petition or write to their MP's - but we can probably con 100,000+ racing fans into doing it. To no avail. Now all gambling is the same - wave after wave of negativity and bad press, (very little of it directly relating to racing) but all of it tarnishing racing because racing and playing slots are apparently the same thing. |
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Is Gerald Ratner still alive? - I wonder if he'd fancy a senior role in the Racing Industry?
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Just 5 days ago in the Racing Post:
Sebastian Butterworth (Strategic racing director, Flutter UK) "Defending gaming isn’t to the detriment of racing"  |
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TM, Gerald's 75 years old and still going strong...
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They could do worse imo. In fact they have done in the past.
Gerald was a strategic visionary and PR guru - relative to recent strategy and decision making in racing. |
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What's that you say? The gambling landscape has changed out of all recognition due to the proliferation of addictive and toxic on-line games of chance? Yes, I think we'd like to align ourselves with that.
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i dont think you,d ever get right wing/brexit shrill tim martin proposing benefit money should be replaced with ouchers that cant be used in pubs,bookies, buying ciggies etc etc,and then off course state pension is a benefit
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getting state pension in nov and i,ll qualify for a WFA i dont need,do the forum mind if i use it for gambling
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The figures quoted are rare to be correct, I think you could x 10 and still not get to the correct number using cards for gambling, and do we really think that’s the only money they get, come on, they are getting taxis everywhere as well all funded by us, local papers reach who run most of them, are not publishing most court things to do with hotels but gleefully publish any court proceedings on anyone else, just read a assault on a girl outside a hotel not published in the local paper where he got 12 months, you get 2.5 years for words on line, it’s reported he will probably be deported, yeah right
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SHOULDNT BE HERE.
SHOULDNT GET FCK ALL. PROBLEM SOLVED. |
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don't go in 'em these days but are there any ATM's INSIDE any betting shops ?
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hardly surprising the uk is the premier destination for illegal immigrants
instead of being jailed and deported for breaking border laws they are rewarded. hence they travel thousands of miles at great expense to take advantage |
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FREE STUFF
FREE HOTELS FREE GAMBLING MONEY FREE NHS FREE DENTIST FREE PHONES FREE CLOTHING ALL ENABLED BY THE RANCID WOKE LEFTIES IN THIS COUNTRY ,THEY ARE THE PROBLEM , NOT THE MIGRANTS ,WHO WOULD NOT WANT FREE STUFF ? |
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Free spins?
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These players are economic migrants. The government has been hoodwinked or diddled by those do-gooders. I hope an appropriate retribution for the "players" eg Rwanda.
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A calamity if there is an ATM in the bookies. An ATM can only promote fobt accessibility.
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free thinking
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Thats the type IMP the Do Gooders , Who turn up when Mothers are protesting because their Children are being Assaulted , They Turn up to Shout the women down as Racists ..
No shortage of the Do Gooders on these forums TBH .. You know how bad things are in a Country when you get Protests on behalf of Sex Cases |
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Don't think they will be at The Bell much longer.
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who would not want to 'do good'?
its a misnomer. those you speak of are in denial about the uncormfortable reality of immigration and seek to deflect from it by browbeating all dissenters from the official narrative that its a always a good thing it isnt so they deny its effects to close the debate and label all those who dont follow the politically correct line(in its literal sense, not the contemporary version) haters and racist |
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The thing is even in sex cases the community specific does not come out publicly to voice abhorrence, shamefulness and offer an apology to the British people brought upon by a select few from their community as if UK Plc owes it to them.
This seems to be the norm behaviour and regularly practised by non-locals or communities not inherently British eg those who perpetrated sexual crimes and grooming on an industrial scale in Rochdale, Leeds, Rotherham, etc. |
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Free Willy.
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FILTH
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Agree string
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How many indigenous long term unworthy benefit claimants have used their money to gamble I wonder?
And why haven't the Daily Fail front-paged that? Presumably as (rightly or wrongly), people in receipt are deemed to be free to use their benefit handouts in any fashion they want. The illegal immigrants are given cards with credit for essentials. Not cash. Yet. |
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Nearly two thirds of convicted rapists in Sweden are migrants or second generation immigrants
they dont seem to be doing too much Gambling in Sweden |