BHA Hypocrisy

Grey

Grey

Senior Jockey
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The hypocrisy of the BHA support for the bookmakers in their submission to the UK government on FOBTs is really shocking.

It would be one thing to say racing (thinks it) has a vested interest in bookies being able to exploit gambling addiction, but to claim that racing supports FOBTs out of a sense of social responsibility is sick:

<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--> Will Lambe, a BHA executive director, said the authority’s “submission on behalf of British racing will emphasise how our sport’s commitment to social responsibility and contribution to the economy, including employment, education and training and charitable initiatives in many rural communities, is supported by sustainable income from the betting sector”.

Lambe said: “Any measures which severely compromise the sport’s financial stability would have unintended consequences to British racing and the wider rural economy.”
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So it's ok to create a social problem in the poorest parts of Britain in order to fund life in the shires.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...ing-shop-roulette-stake-cut-horse-racing-tips
 
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BHA is sick to the core if they truly believe supporting the bookies on Fobts. Those horrible machines have caused not only huge social problems but also took alot out of normal bookmaking, being able to get a decent bet on and being restricted because the the shops weren't interested in taking bets any more, they just used that as a paravan for their criminal machines.
 
Have been in a bookies maybe five times in the last 10 years. Hateful places.

BHA position on this is reprehensible.
 
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When I was a youngster, eons ago, betting shops were busy, buzzing places full of characters and conversation. Of course they were full of smokers and the occasional idiot but generally a range of people who would discuss selections, criticise jockeys, trainers and stewards. In addition they served as a meeting place for a section of the community. “How’s the old man.”
The ban on smoking had a big impact on the number of punters. Online betting and better television coverage available at home also cut into the numbers. The early fruit machine type of gaming seemed only to pick up only odd ands ends left over when winnings were collected. The introduction of Fobts changed the whole nature of greatly reduced number of punters. Sometimes individuals and increasingly small vociferous groups of machine players began to dominate shops.
Putting it bluntly the vast majority of betting shops are horrible places to enter. I only use them to put on bets that have been restricted online. In the past I would frequently spend some time in a shop to while away the time when the wife Was shopping, those days are long past. RIP old betting shop. Shut the addictive gambling premises,
 
Tout Seul said:
When I was a youngster, eons ago, betting shops were busy, buzzing places full of characters and conversation. Of course they were full of smokers and the occasional idiot but generally a range of people who would discuss selections, criticise jockeys, trainers and stewards. In addition they served as a meeting place for a section of the community. “How’s the old man.”
The ban on smoking had a big impact on the number of punters. Online betting and better television coverage available at home also cut into the numbers. The early fruit machine type of gaming seemed only to pick up only odd ands ends left over when winnings were collected. The introduction of Fobts changed the whole nature of greatly reduced number of punters. Sometimes individuals and increasingly small vociferous groups of machine players began to dominate shops.
Putting it bluntly the vast majority of betting shops are horrible places to enter. I only use them to put on bets that have been restricted online. In the past I would frequently spend some time in a shop to while away the time when the wife Was shopping, those days are long past. RIP old betting shop. Shut the addictive gambling premises,
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I agree. TS. I used to spend a lot of my Saturday mornings in the bookies and when I wasn't studying I'd simply spend a lot of my time there, smoke and all.

In fact I used to work in a bookie's, as a boardmarker.

In those days to get a bit of peace and quiet in the bookies in those days you had to be in pretty soon after it opened. They were hives of activity and, as you say, catching up with people. I often bumped into ex-school pals there, people I wouldn't necessarily think of going to the pub with.

Wouldn't it be nice if a few bookies shops, those with the biggest proliferation of FOBTs in the poorest areas ended up on the receiving end of the kind of treatment one got in the TV series Broken...
 
I enjoyed my time spent in bookies as a troubled youngster back in the mid to late eighties but I doubt if I've been in one more than once a year in the past 10-15 years.

They remind me more of a sunspot arcade than a bookies these days and FOBTs are a main perpetrator in that.
 
For smaller betting stake gamblers betting shops are miles better than they used to be... big screen tv,s .. multiple seating areas .. drinks available .... in my local shops there are plenty of people in different groups socialising everyday... the west indians love it ... mobs of them all day ... good atmosphere if you like dominoes :lol:
 
I only go in shops nowadays to read the paper and maybe to watch the occasional race. Must be years since I’ve bet in one. The abuse handed out to staff by some who’ve done their money (usually on a FOBT) is sickening


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My Grandad retired from the bookmaking game when these started dominating shops.
Him and a few other old chaps met in the local bookies every Saturday, weekly, without fail. Unfortunately due to high number of young lads on the machines and smashing football bets they got made to feel more unwelcome, not just by the kids, but staff as well. Ended up stopping going all together, and my grandad would send my mum to put his bets on before watching the racing at home.

I've also got a friend that lost his Mrs and kids and relationship cause of these machines. He'd earn a half decent number then lose it all within an hour after playing them. When he started playing his mortgage money it was too much for the Mrs. Sad to say, although not as bad, he still plays them.
I used to put change in them when finished my betting for the day, i refuse to even do that now.

I do believe without the machines though we will have no betting shops. Racing needs the shops, the shops need machines.
 
Surely if they are deprived of the hit of an FOBT will there not be the likelihood they will bet on something else ? I am somewhat sceptical of the apocalyptic predictions .

FOBTs are the crack cocaine of gambling as someone said - the reduction of the stake is essential and Grey's analysis of the BHA's position spot on.
 
I normally slip into a bookies in Dublin to hide away if Mrs AC is trying to get me to look at bathroom tiles or wedding outfits. Then I'd slip into a WH on Viccie Rd on Glasgow now and again when the Grandchildren I am visiting get a bit too loud and I need some head space. Its chalk and cheese and the difference is FOBTs. WH is like the place where the hopeless go to despair.
 
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Ardross said:
Surely if they are deprived of the hit of an FOBT will there not be the likelihood they will bet on something else ? I am somewhat sceptical of the apocalyptic predictions .

FOBTs are the crack cocaine of gambling as someone said - the reduction of the stake is essential and Grey's analysis of the BHA's position spot on.
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Yes.

The predictions are wildly OTT and for that reason are irresponsible.

There are gaming arcades for people who feel the need to play puggies. I'm sure they'd be able to play via their mobiles as well. We don't need them in betting shops. If some close without them then that's evolution.

The bookies think nothing of moving into areas to compete with local independents and making concessions the local guys can't compete with meaning they end up closing down.
 
‘Where the hopeless go to despair’ is the right description, AC. Mind you an ultra modern bookies shop can also be weird. Both Bluewater and Lakeside have shops containing all the up to date facilities, including free tea and coffee, armchairs etc. However instead of tortured souls they have no souls at all. No customers. A couple of times I have walked into one of these to see how easily one of the Forum tipped horses is going to win only to be harassed by the staff offering a range of inducements and seemingly desperate for someone to talk to. Presumably the bot men have already done their money before the missus can blow it in the shops.
Seriously the impending regulation may result in a substantial number of closures as the terminals contribute a large portion of each shop’s profit. Pity the staff. Will it drive addicts towards the online casinos? How hard would it be for some evil b****** to set up a site, based in Moscow or Malta, that creams of 80% of some mugs money every time he plays. Presumably there could be an algorithm to extract the maximum from a punter over a period, perhaps there already is.
 
It's my belief that it's people with addictive personalities that play FOBTs.......and that they would gravitate towards something else to get their fix, in the absence of FOBTs.

This might include betting on racing, but they would still do their bollocks in the long-run, as they're basically junkies that don't know when to stop, and - for the large part - have no desire to do so.

A slow-bleed is probably more palatable than an instant haemorrhage, but the end-result is the same for such types. They can't really be saved.
 
Grasshopper said:
It's my belief that it's people with addictive personalities that play FOBTs.......and that they would gravitate towards something else to get their fix, in the absence of FOBTs.

This might include betting on racing, but they would still do their bollocks in the long-run, as they're basically junkies that don't know when to stop, and - for the large part - have no desire to do so.

A slow-bleed is probably more palatable than an instant haemorrhage, but the end-result is the same for such types. They can't really be saved.
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That is why Gamblers Anonymous deserves to be supported and other organisations that work to break that addiction just as much as addictions to alcohol and drugs .
 
After 10 years of some of us arguing for stricter controls and regulation of FOBT's the powers that be pull their finger out of their arse.

Not everyone who pays them is a low life, some people do genuinely enjoy them as a gaming experience. But its the huge turnovers/profits for bookmakers, propping up The Treasury's income, and creating problem gamblers that's the crux of the matter.
 
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