After reading ‘Spiked Online’ yesterday (https://www.spiked-online.com/2020/12/17/gambling-with-adult-freedom/#.X9rsr4UOCWw.twitter) J4P is now convinced that a Gambling Act review is not needed, because gambling regulation has moved on in ‘leaps and bounds’, therefore people should make their own informed choices.
J4P is also convinced that detailed and accurate information will be provided by the gambling industry and government to enable informed choice. J4P has written some draft text for an information leaflet in order to help with this process. Any feedback is very welcome.
How J4P’s idea will work
Before signing up for an online gambling account and depositing money each potential customer must read the following leaflet text. It will stay on screen for two minutes and the potential customer can’t progress to register for an account without ticking it’s been read and sent ID documents confirming they have understood the content. This information will be repeated once per week whilst a person remains a customer and they won’t be able to place further bets until confirming again, in writing every week, that they have read and understood this information (remember, it’s all about informed choice).
Draft leaflet text
- Only 1% of our customers win (ex GVC CEO)
- I don’t see why customers should be allowed to win (ex SkyBet CEO)
- All customers who are deemed as potential sports betting winners using skill are stake restricted, except for some MPs and other people who are important to keep on-side (see social media screen grabs and many articles)
- Customers can’t win in online casinos if they play for any length time (see ‘house’ odds)
- Free bets and other promotions are only for those who lose more than a certain percentage of their betting turnover (bit of a guess, but who cares nobody else seems to)
- For the 99% who lose, the more you play, the more you lose, so play less or not at all (mountains of sources)
- Due to innovation at major gambling companies there are now many more ways to lose than ever before (just look at the websites)
- If you are lucky enough to win you might not get paid until you provide numerous documents, possibly even your tax return (ask J4P for evidence, but do note we made that last bit up about your tax return like the Betting and Gambling Council representative did on TV recently. Sounds good though)
- It’s estimated that as many as 0.5-0.9% of people develop a gambling disorder, which impacts on around another 10 people, e.g. family members (a number of surveys with less than ideal methodology)
- If you’re 16-18 and over and under 35-40 years of age, and male you are the most likely to develop a gambling disorder, in fact more than 1 in 50 do. It is possibly as high as 1 in 25, so perhaps best not to bother opening an account (a number of surveys with less than ideal methodology)
- It’s estimated that 1-2 people in the UK per day commit suicide primarily due to a psychiatric diagnosis called gambling disorder (some foolish Swedish people)
- Thirty million people enjoy gambling, probably because they’ve never been told the above, but you never know you might still enjoy gambling and that is your choice (first five words the Betting and Gaming Council, second bit J4P)
If you’re happy to ‘crack on’ and take your chances (pun intended), please do, because you have made an informed choice AND you will be given a chance to confirm that informed choice every week. You never know you might win ‘big’ using a nine game accumulator, but sure as hell, you won’t win regularly using skill in your own name, and you might be harmed by your gambling.
As mentioned already J4P is now 100% convinced that this informed choice approach will sort everything out, thus saving lots of time and money on the Gambling Act review.
Pinocchio by André Koehne
