With an impending review of the 2005 gambling act set to be finalised, Chris Wright along with Philip Davies, Conservative MP Shipley; Jon Bryan, poker player and gambling writer; and Emmet Kennedy, presenter and producer of ‘The Final Furlong Podcast’, tackle the issues and uncertainties surrounding the situation.
The ‘Deep Dive’ episode raised key questions surrounding the imminent review. Philip Davies, also a member of the Race Horse Owners Association, commented: “All sides of this debate agree there needs to be an update to the gambling act (2005).
“Back in the day, most gambling was done in betting shops and casinos. Since then there’s been a huge explosion in online gambling, and the gambling act didn’t have a great deal to say about that. Everybody agrees we need to have a look at laws of gambling, the dispute is how stringent and liberal those laws should be. Over the last 17 years since that gambling act, there’s been a much more media focus on levels of problem gambling.
“I’m deeply concerned about the gambling review,” added Kennedy.
It’s not really getting the corporate media’s backing. There were 13,000 constituents who lobbied against this, and Racing TV put up their template and an additional 5,000 lobbied their MPs as well.
“If you have to ring your bank manager and ask to be given a letter presented to a bookmaker so you can place a bet, even if you have a £100 deposit that can exclude you from a mortgage. There are cases of that, the last thing anybody wants to do is that.
“That drives people away from regulated bookmaking and it punishes them into the dark corners of the web, gambling in the underground market.
The conversation moves on to discuss anti-gambling campaigns and an increased media and public focus on problem gambling. The panel debated where tougher regulation is needed to tackle gambling-related harms, and highlight the risks of gambling addiction.
Together the panel also discussed the impact of eliminating betting sponsorships from football shirts, and whether the infrastructure of the horse racing industry is sustainable without prize money or TV advertising exposure.
Pro punter Jon Bryan also discussed the societal risks involved. “This will have a profound effect on society and it is important people start talking about it,” remarked Bryan.
“There’s a difference between public perception of things and actual reality. Given we’ve had the last 2 years of being told what to do and obviously for very good reasons, I think people are a bit fed up about that. If punters are being told they need to provide all of this information that isn’t going to sit well with a significant amount of people.”
The conversation moves on to discuss anti-gambling campaigns and an increased media and public focus on problem gambling. The panel debated where tougher regulation is needed to tackle gambling-related harms, and highlight the risks of gambling addiction.
Together the panel also discussed the impact of eliminating betting sponsorships from football shirts, and whether the infrastructure of the horse racing industry is sustainable without prize money or TV advertising exposure.
