Peter Webb | Bet Angel | The Affordability Check Song
The Gambling Act is currently going through Parliament, and is a very badly thought-out piece of legislation.
It aims to address problem gambling. Nobody can object to protecting vulnerable people, but this is not the legislation to do it.
The legislation does not cover gambling on lottery, which is by far and away the most significant gambling activity of the UK population. For example, scratch cards are the crack cocaine of problem Gambling, and can be bought in any quantity using a credit card at a local shop.
There is no specific legislation for loot boxes which aggressively target underage gamblers, and there is nothing to stop people from gambling on the rapidly growing crypto-gambling sites.
The much-hated casinos and slots are now being heavily pushed in preference to sports betting, which has a lower margin and is more expensive.
This has resulted in booming profits for pure games of chance. Meanwhile, industries like horse racing are being thrown under the bus because the legislation fails to differentiate it from horribly addictive, high-frequency games of no skill.
An arbitrary limit has been placed on how much you can Gamble. It’s so low that even buying a copy of the Racing Post daily would exceed your limit before the month is out.
Worse than that, you must submit to highly intrusive affordability checks to wager to any decent level on sports betting. It’s easier to get a mortgage.
It’s a terrible piece of legislation that needs a massive rethink.
#betting #gambling #affordability
