Using kids as a political football is twisted, Tom
IT’S A LOTTERY MP’s attempt to use children in the row over bet machines is hypocritical nonsense of highest order OBESITY THE BIG ISSUE
THERE was a time not so long ago when we were told Scottish football had a problem with gambling creeping into the game.
The actual facts of the matter are that right now there is a far bigger threat to our game with the prospect of betting being kicked out.
Storms are starting to brew and if they ever reached full force the damage would be catastrophic.
Sport and football has long been a playing field for political point scoring and as usual the opportunity to find a link hasn’t been missed.
Step forward Labour’s Tom Watson. There were already rumblings over the increased liberalisation of gambling in Britain that followed the advent of the National Lottery before 888sport presented an open goal to the agitators.
The Gambling Commission brandished a record penalty of £7.8million on the firm after vulnerable customers, who had self excluded from their accounts, were still able to use them to gamble £3.5m.
This isn’t about a fiver or a tenner on a coupon or a horse.
This centres around the FOBTs. Or Fixed Odds Betting Terminals. These machines in our betting shops have been labelled the crack cocaine of gambling.
Gamblers can wager £100 every 20 seconds on machines featuring touchscreen, casinostyle games.
They were responsible for 96 per cent of all losses over £1000 in betting shops and arcades.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport wants to reduce the maximum stake on the machines to as little as £2.
The punishment dished out to 888 was a ripe chance which Watson didn’t miss, saying football must play its part if Britain is to tackle the “hidden epidemic” of gambling addiction.
Watson called for an end to shirt sponsorship by betting companies and further