As predicted in J4P’s previous blog nobody seems happy with the white paper: https://justiceforpunters.org/the-white-paper-debacle/. J4P’s blog was pretty accurate. If only we were as good at betting, but to be fair J4P had far more inside information on the draft white paper than we do when backing horses, except those of us who own legs…
Will the UK finally see its Gambling Act (2005) review white paper during the week beginning Monday April 24th2023? The excitement being shown by some on social media and in some specialist media seems to suggest, yes. What is all the excitement about though? As a person who has given my time freely for 7-8…
Introduction J4P is convinced the Gambling Act (2005) white paper review won’t deal with affordability. The ‘rumour mill’ seems to be that affordability will be handed back to the Gambling Commission, despite the Racing Post articles this week hinting otherwise. The Gambling Commission will probably use another consultation to take things forward. This provides another…
Following another Gambling Commission fine for Entain (Ladbrokes, Coral et al) this week, it really is time to remind people of the fantasy world some have been living in for over a decade. When the money is rolling-in and a group of humans are benefitting from it, it’s so easy to believe that everything will…
On 30/06/2022 two of racing’s media behemoths took to Twitter with hugely opposing views on one hot topic: ‘Cards on the table’ from me: Around 7-8 years ago I refused to stand next to my passport photo-page and take a selfie to obtain £40.00 from a gambling company that no longer trades in the UK,…
Justice for Punters (J4P) is delighted to announce the launch of two new gambling dispute self-help guides (https://justiceforpunters.org/gambling-disputes-2021/). This is a major piece of work, which reflects 6-7 years of our voluntary work. J4P hopes both guides are useful. They will hopefully enable people to understand their rights, thus helping them to fight for justice….
This Monday started a mass of publicity about ‘safer gambling’. To use one of the favourite words of the Betting and Gaming Council and others, surely it can only be the “prohibitionists” who don’t love it. J4P needs to be careful, because a well informed individual who we respect trawled back through our Twitter timeline…
What next for J4P? After nearly six years of helping people with their betting disputes and cases of exploitation J4P has decided to change how it works. Nearly £2.5 million returned to gambling consumers is a pretty fair effort for two volunteer case helpers. As many of you know Paul Fairhead retired from this voluntary…
Earlier in the week I was asked to provide an overview of what I didn’t like about an article that appeared in ‘The Times’ entitled ‘Gambling and gambling disorder are two completely different things’, so here goes. “Seven years on from the act becoming law, the strength of MPs’ and peers’ commitment to liberal tolerance…
J4P submitted to the Gambling Act (2005) review two days ago. This followed 4-6 weeks where everything else had to virtually stop, because to submit properly needed a lot of reading and listening. Of course this reading and listening had been going on for years before the last 4-6 weeks. During this 5-6 year period…
Gambling consumers are not regarded or treated as such. Historical attitudes relating to gambling and ‘the gambler’ reveal many negative stories. These narratives are perfect for the relatively new gambling corporations. Gambling corporations market their industry as entertainment. They also strongly promote that they provide income, not just for governments, but for other industries, sports…
For all of you who’ve played competitive team sports there’s little worse than having a colleague who doesn’t turn up. We’ve all had teammates who’ve had convenient injuries, e.g. in my case, it was whenever my rugby league team was drawn away in the Yorkshire cup at a local Castleford side. It was inevitable; the…
Who will stop the Gambling Act review being a farce? This is a massive question. It was decided that the review should be wide ranging. This was a good decision. Then it was decided that the DCMS should solely lead the review, which is a strange one when gambling impinges on many other government departments,…
Published by the ‘Betting and Gaming Council’ (BGC) Data collected and provided by the Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board (BARB) Data described and limited analysis undertaken by Enders Analysis Commentary provided by the BGC Link to full report: https://bettingandgamingcouncil.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Review-of-Gambling-Industry-W2W-Advertising-Restrictions_v8.pdf What follows is a review of this report by ‘Justice for Punters’ (J4P), including the methodology, data…
Last evening I listened to ‘The Moral Maze’ (podcast here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000kp96). My learning involved the impression that gambling disorder is all the person’s fault and that large corporations should be allowed to do as they wish, so long as libertarians don’t have their rights of freedom infringed. Everyone is entitled to their views, but surely…
“Tragic gambler who was ‘groomed’ with a bonus: How online casino plied 25-year-old with a £400 booster just hours before he took his own life” https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8359275/Online-casino-plied-Chris-Bruney-25-400-boost-hours-took-life.html In late May this article was published. To say it caused a bit of rumpus is an understatement. Firstly, it’s very important to praise and respect the bravery of…
As a number of people, both in and around the gambling industry and others know J4P is struggling with some of the work it is doing, e.g. helping with awful gambling disorder cases and having to keep them private, whilst gambling companies continue to behave badly. J4P hastens to add that this is the right…
J4P promised on Twitter about three weeks ago to find out more about this deal and its legality. On Twitter and on our forum we asked for people who were willing to share their experiences both positive and negative concerning the deal. Unsurprisingly, the responses were primarily negative. J4P thanks all who replied. Those who…
Alcohol being poured away during prohibition https://www.millracenorthville.org/events-1/lecture-series-bathtub-gin-and-rum-running-in-detroit-and-michigan It’s fair to say that the last few weeks has seen a ramping up of the debate on all sides of the arguments concerning the gambling industry. Some of the debate has been worthwhile, but a fair amount has also been extremely unhelpful, not least some of the…
When betting online with traditional sportsbooks, those very rare, genuine old style punters who win and those who show a betting style that they may win know the consequences – stake restricted accounts; £50 bets become £5 or even 5p bets. For those determined enough this has led to a daily game of ‘hide and…
You could go to any of the major online bookies, but I’ve chosen Ladbrokes as it has races every 3-minutes, because I crave rapid, frequent entertainment. This is my recommended 50p Lucky 15 (total cost £7.50 if your account isn’t restricted already). All my selections are running at Chase Park, which is in a leafy…
The trilby is perched, braces hoist trousers above the waists of the mostly stout framed bookies. There’s a ciggie on the go in the corner of the mouth which leaves enough space to talk if required. Its race day. A bookmaker is the one who writes up your bet, sets the odds and pays the…
During 2006 you’re sat in a meeting room in Stoke, London, Gibraltar or Malta following an email from your CEO that outlines your company must sell, sell, sell and not miss the fantastic opportunities that market liberalisation will offer. For years this was easy; millions, even billions around the world like a ‘bet’ and do…
I chose this blog title from many possibilities, because some of the ‘bookie social media crowd’ were calling it this. Of course none of these people attended the meeting unlike many who paid their own costs to be there despite having little money to do so due to gambling losses. This is to be expected…
Corporate philanthropy often called corporate social responsibility (CSR) is hitting the headlines in the gambling world. Why gambling companies are now rushing to partner with charities and not-for-profit organisations is not difficult to understand. After many years of being able to keep the ‘darker side’ of how the modern corporate gambling industry trades the ‘genie…
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