I’m no vulture

HAVING worked for a bookmaker for 38 years, I take exception to being described as a vulture by reader J from Renfrewshire.

He claims that his father was routinely relieved of his wages by the big bad bookie. I don’t recall hauling anyone into the shop and forcing them to bet.

The whole point of excluding under-18s is the presumption that those who enter are adults and are able to make adult decisions on how they spend their cash.

There are, sadly, a tiny minority who become problem gamblers but, in my experience, most customers enjoy a wee punt. The modern-day betting shop employee is trained to spot potential problem gamblers and to take appropriate action. To vilify the betting industry would only in the end push it underground.

G Rounding, Aberdeen