Gambling Industry Turf Wars, Supermarkets & Pubs

There is a desperate money grab going on right now in the gambling industry. It’s a turf war to get the money whilst they can.

The gambling industry has invested heavily in promoting their dangerous electronic gambling machines and other addictive products such as high speed, high stake roulette available 24 / 7 in the online casinos and on the bookmaker FOBT machines, and the Lottery scratch cards innocuously served up in the supermarkets.

These products are addiction by design. They are designed to hook people in by making every losing play a near miss that has an effect on the brain to release a flood of dopamine that creates a sensation more exciting than even the winning itself. This keeps people locked in play far beyond their better judgement. Always the next spin will be the one that pays out big.

They are using a well proven methodology of hijacking emotional traits in the brain to groom vulnerable people and children for gambling related harm. They are an industry where the bulk of their profit comes from the destruction and misery of their client base. 

Of course it is all lies, you cannot win gambling otherwise the industry simply wouldn’t exist. The reality is that the gambling industry always needs new customers, eventually every addict is depleted of resources or their ability to obtain money is stopped by an event such as going to prison, inability to borrow more, loss of their job, suicide, or if they are one of the lucky few they realise eventually they need to stop and seek help to do so.

Already the public perception of gambling is changing as more and more people are being harmed and the ripple effects of that misery and destruction wreaks havoc in families and communities across the UK.

Gambling commission data from their 2016/17 annual report shows that 69% of people now believe that gambling is dangerous to family life and that 55% of people now believe that gambling should be discouraged. (Up from 36% in 2010)

At the same time gambling couldn’t be more prevalent or available and the Government and other companies are complicit in promoting the harm to maximise profits or taxes even when the long term economics of such a strategy are flawed.

What we are seeing is a desperate money grab that is playing out in new ways. Everyone seems to want a piece of the action, like a plague of vultures tearing open its still alive and screeching prey.

The gambling industry has bought into food companies and is promoting products such as Kellogg’s Krave Roulette, Doritos Roulette crisps and Haribo roulette sweets. The supermarkets are stocking the product. It’s aimed at further normalising gambling and targeting the curiosity of a younger audience to get their first pound that will hook them into play and empty their pockets. Why would the supermarkets want to put such products on the kid’s breakfast table?

At the same time two of the biggest gambling industry lobby groups (the ABB, representing the bookmaker industry and BACTA representing the amusement arcade, and pub machine industry) have locked horns (like vultures) over where the spend should go.

BACTA have funded the Parliamentary APPG investigation into the fixed odds betting terminals and have called strongly for a reduction in machine stakes from £100 a spin to £2 a spin to reduce the harm being caused by high speed high stake roulette and slot machine games.

At the same time BACTA and others including Gamestec, JD Wetherspoons, Hungry Horse, have been silently introducing roulette and other FOBT type content into the pub market to take back some of that spend from the bookmakers. Not only are the machines capable of extracting thousands an hour in spend from an addict but they are served up in an environment where alcohol is served and children are present. 

The turf war opening up to fight for that pound of spend is every bit as despicable as every part of the gambling industry. It must be stopped.

Electronic Gambling machines – All-out war on 4 million people in the UK

Nearly 4 million people in the UK identify as gambling addicts or at-risk gamblers

(Source: Gambling Commission – gambling participation in 2016)

 

The narrative from the gambling industry and others that says it’s all the individuals fault, that it is simple bad choice to spend more than you can afford is simplistic, dangerous, and worrying.

 

If we have 4 million people in the UK wandering around our streets not in control of their actions then we had better all go home and put the shutters down.

 

It is nonsense talk.

 

I want to separate ‘treatment’ from the rest of this discussion because in that context it is important for the individual to take responsibility to stop gambling because frankly if they don’t no-one else will.

 

In the context of the gambling industry it is all out war on 4 million people in this country.

 

They have meticulously, purposely designed a cradle to grave system to deprive 4 million people of their time, money, and dignity for profit.

 

It is an absolute scandal.

 

The machines are omnipresent, you cannot escape them.

 

They are online and offline, in the bookmakers, on your phone, in amusement arcades, on your notebook, in the bowling alley, on your tablet, in the bingo halls, in the casinos, in the fish & chip shop, in your head, all day, every day, in work or out of work, at home or out of home.

 

The narrative is that they are ‘FUN’, a harmless, benign, leisure pursuit that creates jobs and pays its taxes. The people behind the operators have used their wealth to infiltrate the government, regulator, banking, to create the narrative and write gambling policy and regulation.

 

Who else could construct ‘responsible gambling’ as a credible policy statement? It’s about as responsible as taking all of your weekly food money, chucking it into a wishing well and asking for your children to be fed!

 

Every day up to 4 million people will like zombies caught up in some non-stop game craze seek out their next fix, be it in the online casino or on the fixed odds betting terminals in shops out of sight in the high street.

 

It stinks. This is dirty money that is stolen from the 4 million people who least can afford to spend it. At the same time these people are immersed into a fantasy land that can take years to escape from; years of time lost. Along the way of course many people are hurt from the lying and cheating, stealing and plundering to find the money for the next fix. And the emotional toil is immense too; families despair, and break-up, unable to cope with the consequences of an addict constant money problems and inability to lead a normal life.

 

The industry have designed and navigated legislation to place their product into every age category from birth to death. They advertise non-stop through media promoting the big wins, and the fun participating in this exciting world.

 

The gambling industry know that for this 4 million group they just need to get as many of them in to the fast paced world of high speed play, and participation that will keep them locked into play until they are broken.

 

It’s been designed that way. It’s all-out war on 4 million people.

CALL TO ACTION TO challenger banks to offer a card product with block for gambling transactions.

 UPDATE: 15th June 2017.

Please respond to this survey www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/9SYBKT7  to provide your views on a bank account with a card blocked to gambling transactions and with a £30 daily cash withdrawal limit.

When considering the price point consider how much the card could save you from gambling relapses.

The product is primarily aimed at gambling addicts and those at risk of but remember as a husband / wife you may have concerns about your partner and this product could be good for family finances as a preventative tool.

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Original Post:

Twelve years on from the Gambling Act 2005 and there is still no effective method of self-exclusion from online gambling or using your debit / credit card to fund gambling transactions other than the will power to abstain.

How can this be possible when two of the three licensing objectives that underpin the gambling legislation state:

• Ensure that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way.
• Protecting children and other vulnerable people from being harmed or exploited by gambling.

Self-exclusion is in demand.

The numbers requesting self-exclusion from gambling operators have exploded to 1.1 million requests in 2016, double the numbers seen in 2014.  (Source- Sun Newspaper 13^th March 2017)

This number will likely continue to increase with the current light touch regulation of the gambling industry in the UK and the continued promotion of gambling as a ‘fun’ activity through 24/7 advertising.

The problem with operator self-exclusion is that the gambling addict goes and opens a betting account elsewhere a couple of weeks later and relapses.

Cutting the finance off is the most effective way to help someone self-exclude.

The challenger banks are already prevalent in the underbanked market and they have the technology to solve this social problem. 

There is a business case for them too and I will happily lend my expertise in this area having campaigned for well over ten years now to find a solution in this space.

Nearly 4 million people in the UK identify as gambling addicts or at-risk gamblers and need help to take control of their finances. (Source: Gambling Commission – gambling participation in 2016)

Come on Challenger banks, step up and take this on. Offer a card product that blocks gambling transactions and restricts cash withdrawals to £20 daily.

Bookies are not the safest place to work!

Horse Racing: Coral manager recovering from surgery after stabbing.

Byline: Graham Green

A CORAL manager stabbed three times during a robbery at his betting shop in Bradford on Sunday night has had his spleen removed, writes Graham Green.
The 50-year-old man is recovering in Bradford Royal Infirmary after the attack, which was branded "vile and cowardly" by company spokesman Dave Stevens.
The manager, who had been working alone at the shop in Market Street, Thornton, for the previous three hours, was in the process of shutting up when the robber struck around 6pm. After being forced behind the cash desk, he was knifed by his attacker, who later fled with a small amount of money.
Despite being badly injured, the manager was able to raise the alarm and was taken to hospital, where surgeons operated soon after his admission. Coral are not naming the employee, who has been with the firm since the shop was taken over as part of the John Woods bookmakers purchase in December 2003.
"The area manager went to see him on Monday and, thankfully, he was as well as could be expected," said Stevens.
"Our chief priority is the welfare of our member of staff, and we will do all we can to support him and his family, and to help police with their inquiries.
"Attacks of that nature, with that level of violence, are, fortunately, still a rare occurrence and we are just very relieved that he is out of danger."
Stevens added: "The robber got away with a small sum of money, and this is the other thing about it - there is never a large amount of money in a betting shop' that is just a myth."
A spokesman for West Yorkshire police said yesterday: "A 33-year-old man arrested on Sunday night has since been released on police bail and inquiries are continuing."
Police are appealing to anyone who was in the Market Street and Fountain Street area in the hour before the robbery, or anybody who visited the Coral shop during that time, to contact them on 01274 376259.

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Horse+Racing%3A+Coral+manager+recovering+from+surgery+after+stabbing.-a0158190369
Chappel v Gala Coral 2013
We saved our client £350,000 following a full denial of a case involving an assault of a betting shop manager in Bradford in 2007.
http://www.gallagherbassett.co.uk/article/2014/03/29/chappel-v-gala-coral-2013
The claimant was the manager of a Coral Racing betting shop near Bradford when he suffered injuries following an assault/robbery of the shop on 21 January 2007.
The claimant suffered stab wounds to his stomach, chest, legs, torso, finger and face which resulted in injury to his spleen. It is believed that he had to have his spleen removed and suffered from PTSD which prevented the claimant from meaningful employment. The claimant claim was pleaded in excess of £225,000.
The Claimant’s legal representatives argued liability stating there was inadequate security insofar that the betting shop had no CCTV and other security measures were inadequate. Unbeknown to Coral the Claimant had some of his own money stored in a safe on the premises and following investigation by the Police it was discovered that the Claimant kept a knife in the safe also.
Our instructed solicitors acting for Coral obtained advice from Counsel, it was opined that there had probably been a breach of duty but there were major issues with causation because of the hidden money. The advice was as per our own instructions that being to continue to defend. Legal advice was given to consider making a nuisance offer when questioning the claimant following several inconsistencies with the evidence given, however it was agreed to await sight of further expert evidence.
A jointly instructed expert report was obtained in relation to the security measures in place it suggest there was little fault on the part of Coral Racing Ltd. Based on this encouraging report it was agreed to pursue to trial maintaining the denial, the claimant was at this point invited to discontinue the claim, he did not.
Judgement was handed down in January this year, with Coral being successful in the full denial, the saving on the claim inclusive of costs is in the region of £350,000.
The case was handled by Emma Harris, Senior Adjuster in Swindon.

Ban gambling addiction machines from our high streets.

Sign the petition: to ban gambling addiction machines from our high streets. (B2 / FOBTs)

Our high streets are being taken over by betting companies whose business model is to create and exploit gambling addictions.

This isn’t about placing the odd bet on a football match or horse race. Bookies use their electronic gambling machines to filter out that casual crowd: they’re looking for people with the potential for a serious gambling addiction.

Fixed-odds betting terminals feed a dependency just as powerful as drugs or alcohol. Their high speed games, with stakes as high as £100 every twenty seconds, mean you can easily lose a month’s wages in under an hour. Eventually you realise you’re not doing it for the money – you’re doing it because you’re physically addicted to the rush.

I’ve lost numerous jobs because of electronic gambling. I’ve lost two properties through failure to keep up with mortage payments, I've amassed £100,000s in debt, I’m separated from my wife and children, and I’m trapped in a situation where I can’t rent accommodation because my credit score is so low and I haven’t enough money for a deposit. Now I’ve got special blocks on my computer that stop me straying onto a betting site – I even had to disable them to set up this petition.

We can do something to change the tide of misery and reclaim our high streets. We can sign this petition.

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/ban-gambling-addiction-machines-from-our-high-streets

Effective self exclusion from gambling by debit / credit / prepaid card - Letters sent.

The following letter has gone out today to

1) Antonio Osorio, Group Chief Executive Officer, Lloyds Banking Group Plc, 

2) Ross McEwan, Group Chief Executive Officer, Royal Bank of Scotland Plc, 

3) Nathan Bostok, Chief Executive Officer, Santander UK Plc, 

4) John McFarlance, Executive Chairman, Barclays Bank Plc, 

5) Paul D. Pester, Chief Executive Officer, TSB Bank Plc, 

6) Stuart Gulliver, Group Chief Executive Officer, HSBC Holdings Plc.

Anthony Franklin

(address given)

Stuart Gulliver

Group Chief Executive Officer

HSBC Holdings Plc

8, Canada Square,

London,

E14 5HQ.

16^th September 2015

Dear Mr Gulliver,  

You may be aware of the increased public concern about the 24 / 7 availability of gambling and gambling advertising and that not enough is being done to stem the tide of destruction and misery for those who suffer with a gambling addiction, and their families.

Within this context I write to ask that HSBC Holdings Plc provides on customer request self-exclusion for gambling transactions on debit / credit / prepaid cards (MCC 7995) and provides a form available on-line or in branch for all its’ group retail banks for this purpose.

Analysis of the Health Survey for England 2012 and of the Scottish Health Survey 2012 identified 700,000 adults or 1.4% of the population in England and Scotland to be either at moderate risk of gambling addiction or problem gamblers. (Source: Gambling Commission)  

Based on the Health Survey analysis for more than 1 in 100 of your bank’s customers’ gambling addiction can be a very serious problem and the financial consequence of the problem can be devastating.

I look forward to hearing your response to this matter. 

Kind regards,

Anthony Franklin; campaigning as GamblingHurts.

Twitter: @gamblinghurts

A snap insight into how you feel after giving in to your gambling addiction. (26th June)

Fuck this world. I'm beyond help. Nobody understands my pain, nobody seems able to help me ease my pain. Try as I might to contribute to this world I'm seen as ...a burden. My poor parents despair, my wife can't cope with me, I can't cope with myself, my son loves me, I try to be at peace with the world and myself, to help others where I can, to shine some happiness into their lives where I can but inside I'm a complete mess, a complete fuck up. Yesterday I lost €3500, then somehow I won it back again, then today I lost it again. Why? I don't know. But I've been seeking help, from reading, from talking with others, from ringing the Samaritans, from ringing Citizens Advice, from the doctor, from the psychiatrist. In the meantime I am dealing with these demons I can't control them anymore. I am shit, worthless piece of crap that can't support my family. We lost our house, I'm going to lose my house again, I can't hold a job, I'm worth nothing to this shit world. Fuck this world. Fuck it.