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.
Sunday, November 13, 2016
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
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
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
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
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.
16th 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
Monday, August 3, 2015
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.
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Fixed Odds Betting Terminals may haunt the bookmaker industry for years to come. I certainly hope so.
Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs) are high speed, high stake gambling machines that offer roulette and other casino games on the UK high streets. They came to prominence in 2002 when the casino game roulette was first introduced. At that time the FOBTs were not regulated or categorised by Government and the bookmakers placed them into betting shops without any clear operating parameters agreed with regulatory bodies.
Subsequently the bookmakers convinced the Gaming Board of Great Britain and Government that they could be trusted to self-regulate and the machines were categorised in the Gambling Act 2005. In contravention of the spirit of the law per The Gaming Machines Supply and Regulation 2007 the industry have adapted the FOBTs to take debit card deposits when made over the counter.
Public concerns over harm being caused by the FOBTs have been steadily growing, with an ever increasing number of people losing everything on the machines with consequences on families, employers, and local communities.
At the same time there has been a convergence of other concerns surrounding the FOBTs namely. the proliferation and clustering of betting shops and other exploitative businesses such as Pay Day loan shops in the high streets, and the public have also become tired of non-stop gambling advertising in the media, particularly on TV and across Social Media platforms.
Perhaps most worryingly for the gambling industry though is the alienation of clients of their previous core business, Over the Counter (OTC) bets on horses, dogs, football etc. The bookmaker industry has reinvented traditional betting into a sophisticated trading platform based on a financial algorithm that reduces the position or closes down accounts from anybody adapt at beating the bookmaker.
Whilst bookmakers have always closed down loss making accounts, it is the growth of the FOBT industry to be their core business that has allowed them to decline or restrict bets on such a frequency that even their core customers have been alienated by their business model.
With the success of the Campaign For Fairer Gambling and the sun setting on the exploitative nature of the FOBT business the bookmaker industry may come to regret its strategy of the last 15 years.
I for one hope so. Anthony Franklin.
Subsequently the bookmakers convinced the Gaming Board of Great Britain and Government that they could be trusted to self-regulate and the machines were categorised in the Gambling Act 2005. In contravention of the spirit of the law per The Gaming Machines Supply and Regulation 2007 the industry have adapted the FOBTs to take debit card deposits when made over the counter.
Public concerns over harm being caused by the FOBTs have been steadily growing, with an ever increasing number of people losing everything on the machines with consequences on families, employers, and local communities.
At the same time there has been a convergence of other concerns surrounding the FOBTs namely. the proliferation and clustering of betting shops and other exploitative businesses such as Pay Day loan shops in the high streets, and the public have also become tired of non-stop gambling advertising in the media, particularly on TV and across Social Media platforms.
Perhaps most worryingly for the gambling industry though is the alienation of clients of their previous core business, Over the Counter (OTC) bets on horses, dogs, football etc. The bookmaker industry has reinvented traditional betting into a sophisticated trading platform based on a financial algorithm that reduces the position or closes down accounts from anybody adapt at beating the bookmaker.
Whilst bookmakers have always closed down loss making accounts, it is the growth of the FOBT industry to be their core business that has allowed them to decline or restrict bets on such a frequency that even their core customers have been alienated by their business model.
With the success of the Campaign For Fairer Gambling and the sun setting on the exploitative nature of the FOBT business the bookmaker industry may come to regret its strategy of the last 15 years.
I for one hope so. Anthony Franklin.
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
The answer to the opportunity to gamble is very simple. Cut it off.
I've been addicted to electronic gambling machines since the age of 11 when I first started playing them in the local seaside town where I went to school. 30 plus years on and I'm still struggling to beat this addiction.
I progressed from playing fruit machines to playing FOBTs and online roulette, 3CP. The amounts I lost increased beyond all correlation to my ability to earn a wage as my addiction progressed to pathological and took over my entire life.
The operators of FOBTs / online gambling sites are equally guilty of doing the minimum for responsible gambling policy in order to maintain the status quo with regards to regulation to prevent gambling harm. The reason for this is quite simple, problem gamblers are making huge profits for the industry.
I don't know exactly how much I've lost over the years but it runs into multiple hundreds of thousands of pounds racked up on debt. The impact on health though is perhaps even more stark. At the very least the impact to one's health after decades of having your mood driven by wins / losses from gambling should not be understated. At its worst problem gamblers feel completely alone, and a burden on society, leading in the very worst cases to suicide.
Once an addict, always an addict and the problem with gambling for addicts is the sheer amount of opportunity to gamble. Its driven into your face by TV adverts, constant bonus promotion emails, SMS messages, high street bookmakers etc. It's literally everywhere.
As a problem gambler I can do my best to be strong and remind myself of the misery it causes me, the pain it causes my family and friends, but is it fair that the industry just bombards me with offers / adverts for gambling but without taking sufficient steps to protect me as a problem gambler who doesn't want to relapse?
The answer to the opportunity to gamble is very simple. Cut it off.
1. Online gambling:
Change the law to require banks on request (by the problem gambler) to block Merchant Category Card (MCC) 7995 gambling transactions. The banks already have the procedure in place to do this as online gambling is illegal already today in some jurisdictions.
2. FOBTs:
Implement a self exclusion database. (by operator or national self exclusion database funded by industry)
Install card readers on all FOBTs with swipe cards issued to customers on request. During log-on the system will authenticate the card against the self exclusion database to check that the user of the card has not self excluded themselves. Any payout requires ID cross checked against the card owner.
Taking just these two steps will almost eradicate the opportunity for a self excluded problem gambler to have a relapse.
Thanks for reading.
Anthony
Please follow me on www.twitter.com/gamblinghurts
I progressed from playing fruit machines to playing FOBTs and online roulette, 3CP. The amounts I lost increased beyond all correlation to my ability to earn a wage as my addiction progressed to pathological and took over my entire life.
The operators of FOBTs / online gambling sites are equally guilty of doing the minimum for responsible gambling policy in order to maintain the status quo with regards to regulation to prevent gambling harm. The reason for this is quite simple, problem gamblers are making huge profits for the industry.
I don't know exactly how much I've lost over the years but it runs into multiple hundreds of thousands of pounds racked up on debt. The impact on health though is perhaps even more stark. At the very least the impact to one's health after decades of having your mood driven by wins / losses from gambling should not be understated. At its worst problem gamblers feel completely alone, and a burden on society, leading in the very worst cases to suicide.
Once an addict, always an addict and the problem with gambling for addicts is the sheer amount of opportunity to gamble. Its driven into your face by TV adverts, constant bonus promotion emails, SMS messages, high street bookmakers etc. It's literally everywhere.
As a problem gambler I can do my best to be strong and remind myself of the misery it causes me, the pain it causes my family and friends, but is it fair that the industry just bombards me with offers / adverts for gambling but without taking sufficient steps to protect me as a problem gambler who doesn't want to relapse?
The answer to the opportunity to gamble is very simple. Cut it off.
1. Online gambling:
Change the law to require banks on request (by the problem gambler) to block Merchant Category Card (MCC) 7995 gambling transactions. The banks already have the procedure in place to do this as online gambling is illegal already today in some jurisdictions.
2. FOBTs:
Implement a self exclusion database. (by operator or national self exclusion database funded by industry)
Install card readers on all FOBTs with swipe cards issued to customers on request. During log-on the system will authenticate the card against the self exclusion database to check that the user of the card has not self excluded themselves. Any payout requires ID cross checked against the card owner.
Taking just these two steps will almost eradicate the opportunity for a self excluded problem gambler to have a relapse.
Thanks for reading.
Anthony
Please follow me on www.twitter.com/gamblinghurts
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Online Gambling Addiction - Make it illegal to accept credit cards for online gambling transactions.
In the summer of 2008 I lost more than 50,000 EUR in a
period of just two months playing online roulette and slots via my notebook and
mobile phone.
Tweets by @GamblingHurts
At one point I was actually 16,000 EUR in profit but the
casino concerned kept enticing me back with promotions to keep me playing. Of
course as a gambling addict I couldn’t resist and it wasn’t long before I was
into the red.
Now into the zone of chasing losses the casino had me
completely hooked and they would refund me quite large percentages of my losses
as free credit to keep me going and to ensure that over time they took all of
my money.
I was gambling max bets on a single number which for this particular casino was £100 per number. Neither my bank nor the online casino saw anything strange in my making multiple £1000 + deposits from my credit cards with sometimes minutes in between.
When I flagged up to the casino that I had a problem they offered a responsible gambling limit of £25,000 monthly! and even more promotions to keep me gambling.
I played at all times of day and night until the money ran out and I had spent more than £50,000 on credit cards.
With the UK online gambling now a £2 billion business gambling addiction has become a serious problem.
It is time to regulate the online gambling industry to protect against gambling addiction and make it illegal to accept credit cards / overdrafts for online gambling transactions.
As an argument for balance between safeguarding vulnerable people like myself and freedom of choice it makes sense.
When I flagged up to the casino that I had a problem they offered a responsible gambling limit of £25,000 monthly! and even more promotions to keep me gambling.
I played at all times of day and night until the money ran out and I had spent more than £50,000 on credit cards.
With the UK online gambling now a £2 billion business gambling addiction has become a serious problem.
It is time to regulate the online gambling industry to protect against gambling addiction and make it illegal to accept credit cards / overdrafts for online gambling transactions.
As an argument for balance between safeguarding vulnerable people like myself and freedom of choice it makes sense.
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