Invasive affordability checks could kill the sport I love, there’s a better way to protect punters
THE Government’s gambling review is looming over racing like Boris Johnson over a bottle of champers.
It’s long been a hot topic in racing circles, and the Jockey Club’s controversial deal with a gaming company has reignited the debate.
In a nutshell, MPs are planning major changes to gambling regulation in the biggest shake-up for the industry since 2005.
People's gambling habits have changed dramatically in that time, and the review is all part of MPs grand plan to combat ‘problem’ gambling.
As I’ve written about previously, I myself am one of these so-called ‘problem’ gamblers - a term I dislike at it suggests those suffering from addiction are the problem.
So you’d think I’d be all for stricter regulations on bookmakers - but some of the ideas being bandied around Westminster are worrying.
There is a simple solution, which I’ll come back to, but one particularly concerning suggestion is that blanket affordability checks could be introduced.
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So if you’re a punter who likes to have a few quid on the gee gees, you would have to send off your bank details, pay slips and inside leg measurement before you’re allowed to have a bet.
Oh, and there is talk of a betting cap of £100 per month.
Needless to say, if these crazy rules were introduced industry-wide, it would be a disaster for racing.
The minister in charge of the review said in the House Of Commons on Thursday that racing won't be undermined. His statement was welcome but, as is the case with most politicians, he was light on specifics.
Affordability checks would blow a £60m hole in the sport’s finances, hence why racing chiefs have been at pains to differentiate between horse betting and gaming.
Like most people, I'm pro-stronger regulation on the online casinos that have exploded over the past decade, earning bookies billions.
Affordability checks should not and cannot be introduced for sports betting - it would kill the sport I love.
Betting on racing and sports, which requires skill, is night and day when compared to games of chance, where a fixed margin is built in meaning the bookies cannot lose.
Affordability checks should not and cannot be introduced for sports betting - it was my poison but it would also kill the sport I love.
Back to that simple solution - get the bookies to use their advanced algorithms to help fight gambling addiction. Intervention is absolutely key.
The bookies monitor your every move and supposedly have the technology to determine what kind of punter you are (ie, a winner or a loser) after you’ve placed just THREE bets.
Are you telling me that these algorithms can’t be put to good use, like freezing the accounts of punters who are displaying tendencies of a gambling issue?
I know how easy it is for the bookies to spot because, as a compulsive gambler, I have displayed these tendencies.
I’ll give you an example. One Saturday, a few years ago, I punted relentlessly and deposited into my account on 14 seperate occasions.
It was a rollercoaster of a day, but a rare winning one. As the runners passed the post in the last race that evening at Wolves, I had won more than double a month's wages.
But my haul was a few quid shy of a juicy round number - it would be nice to round it up, I thought. I still hadn't had enough of a fix.
I flicked on the American racing and an hour and a half later I'd lost everything I'd won, plus a few extra deposits for good measure.
This wasn’t an isolated incident - over the years I had hundreds of similar days. No bookie ever intervened. If I was a regular 'winner', it would likely have been a different story.
Us 'problem' gamblers are compulsive by nature and, once we start, we find it near impossible to control ourselves. But the bookies can - they know full well when someone's betting is abnormal and when they are displaying tell-tale signs of compulsive gambling.
Gambling addiction can destroy lives, but affordability checks would destroy the livelihoods of thousands in the racing industry - plus ruining an enjoyable pastime for millions.
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There is a balance to be struck, and my plea to MPs is to force bookmakers by law to use their technology for good, to intervene at the first sign of an issue.
Bookies must show they are willing to do more before the future of racing itself becomes a game of chance.