The Poolie Bunker

Apparently the government are about to introduce new legislation which will mean if you bet £200 a year then bookies may prevent you from placing bets without providing a recent pay slip or P60 to prove you can afford it.
Big Brother gone mad imo, that's less than £4 a week. Besides which what business is it of anyone how we spend our money, can spend it all on drink, lottery tickets, etc without any checks so why pick on people who bet a few quid a week?

they will start with gambling and then go onto the other things you mention. big brother is bad enough but worse when he is a puritan.

Obviously they don’t place a bet…….just gamble with our lives instead.

they might bet but they call it playing the stock market.

Ironically this same government wants us to prove we can afford a £4 a week betting habit yet want us to invest more of our savings out of safe ISAs and into the gamble of Stocks and Shares ISAs without any affordability checks (although you are warned that you could lose all your money on a S&S ISA).

A lot of racing industry folk are not happy!

https://www.racingpost.com/news/britain ... QT1F3AipS/

https://www.racingpost.com/news/opinion ... dj4F5JWe5/

£200 a year, I put more on one bet at evens!!!

A few years back I had to complete an online form stating my details and where my money came from, otherwise one of my betting accounts would be suspended.
I was not happy to do so! These possible upcoming checks will be even worse!!!

I agree that we should spend our money on what we want, so long as it is legal.
And betting is legal and should not be subject to these draconaian measures by government quangos!

I have stopped my betting as from Saturday and I am having a summer break while I contemplate what is going to happen.
Even if I drop my betting bank to a couple of grand and play for fun, there is no way I can keep my bets down to £200 a year, a complete joke!

I think the racing industry will fight back if these checks go ahead, the government trying to implement this law are onto a loser!

And as people quite correctly point out, what next?!?

As the Racing Post article posted by Stocksfield Poolie makes clear, the idea came from the Gambling Commission (set up in 2005) and " this policy was introduced by the previous (Tory) government in its 2023 Gambling White Paper" as a pilot scheme.

It's a bloody stupid idea, and it's good that there is all-party support for binning it. Whether it will be or not remains to be seen.

Personally I don't think people who live on benefits should be spending £20 a year on gambling, never mind £200 but I'll wager most of the money they can't afford to gamble goes on Lottery tickets - not the gee-gees.

I love a day at the races but don't touch betting on football with a barge pole - a real mug's game.

Gambling has got out of control with the introduction of online gambling, when I worked abroad young lads were gambling 100 of pounds on the football.Last year one of the fellas I worked with committed suicide due to wracking gambling debts up, he was betting 5 figures sums of money on the football.
National Lottery, the company who took over from Camelot Allwyn are making millions every year, I would ban lottery scratch cards which are conveniently placed next to the tills in shops tempting people to buy them. Branson said he would run the Lottery free of charge. We were all conned by the lottery starting off with people using the same numbers then every week frightened not to use them in case they came up.
No problem with people having a flutter in the bookies, bingo etc

Pilot schemes are usually run to assess the pros and cons of a policy in order to send or cancel implementation. This is being pushed through after the pilot with no heed of what punters, the betting industry, horse racing and other key stakeholders to think. It could have a real impact on jobs and tax revenue while increasing unregulated betting.
Another policy thought up by ideologists with absolutely zero thought as to an impact assessment of the policy.
What next, a Drs certificate stating your not clinically obese or at risk of diabetes before you can buy a chocolate bar or fish and chips?

What have you been reading now PTID comparing diabetes with gambling, they are both a disease one has a cure one doesn’t. Gambling addiction is down to weak willed people being unable to control what they are doing or looking for the pot of gold. I have a close relative who has been a diabetic since they were 7 not caused by eating fish and chips or eating chocolate. Before spouting of about diabetes, do a bit of research ,there are many reasons people develop diabetes, some they don’t know about. My father was a Type 2 Diabetic, not obese, didn’t even take sugar in any drinks but developed it in his later years. I have been diagnosed pre diabetes for years, not obese, don’t take do a bit of research sugar in tea or coffee, don’t drink sugary drinks, eat loads of chocolate nor drink loads of beer.

What the feck are you on?
Where have I made any comparison between gambling and diabetes?
My comments were relative to governmental control and the nanny state.
I am myself type 2 diabetic btw so I hardly need a lecture on the condition from you!

Your comment inferred you were, apologies if it didn’t, are you on any medication, Metformin, the experts say change your diet, I have eaten the same food all my life, would altering my diet change anything at my age ?

I'm not keen on the medication route and at my worst I'm only just over the threshold for Type 2 diagnosis so agreed with GP to try the lifestyle changes Although I'm pretty active so it's really a diet thing. That's got me just under the threshold for most of my test results with the odd lapse which takes me over again. Going to try to stay off the meds if at all possible so diet and self discipline is working for me so far, 2.5 years.

wonder if those whp pack in gambling are any better off. know it sounds a stupid statement but i have packed in the fags 10 weeks back and guess what my bank balence is the same. just where did that £60 a week gone i have saved. done it before and the same financial thing happned.

Take the £60 out the bank every week and stuff it in the mattress.

Not sure how this will work, I will probably bet anywhere between £20-£100 a week, depending on the football & racing fixtures in any given week. What sort of income do I need to be able to continue betting, as they don't know what my other living expenses are that need to be taken out of my income before I have my disposable income to spend as I wish?

Stop worrying and start being annoyed that any politician has the nerve and twisted mindset to tell you how or when you spend YOUR money.
They sound like religious nutters wanting to shape your life in their image.
What next…because once these clowns get ideas like this god knows what else they’ll start tinkering with.