Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Did you see the Local News Story about Metrobet?
A story in one of the local papers today was about how Metrobet on Green Lanes are enticing people to gamble with free bets. It's reproduced on the Local News page.
By coincidence I just had this in my mailbox (anonymised so as not to just do their advertising job for them!):
Goodness know where they got my address from. But it shows these guys are really going to push betting any way they can.
By coincidence I just had this in my mailbox (anonymised so as not to just do their advertising job for them!):
Goodness know where they got my address from. But it shows these guys are really going to push betting any way they can.
Tags for Forum Posts: betting shops, gambling
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Alison P on
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Really depressing. Who's to say that all the shops in that little stretch don't start doing this - of course sure they are competing for existing customers, but I'm guessing a few new ones wouldn't go amiss. It reminds me of the tired old arguments that tobacco companies used to trot out to justify their advertising (we're just competing for the brand loyalty of existing smokers) - I'd hope that in future the opportunities to advertise gambling become as circumscribed as those for cigarettes.
As for this argument that regulation has prevented any growth in problem gambling (bottom of the local news story). This is based on two surveys, the last of which was carried out 3 years ago. So the impact of the most recent changes in the law has never been examined. Added to which, I think the fixed odds machines of which they are all so fond are fairly new as well - so their impact is untested too. One finding from the 2005 survey that the gambling lobby don't flash about is that rates of problem gambling are at their highest among those who use fixed odds machines. So I'd be very interested in seeing what impact the increase in the number of fixed odds machines will have on problem gambling rates in the future.
Rant over. Sorry.
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
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There is another analogy with the tobacco industry, who always denied that they targeted youth, despite obvious come-ons like the cartoon-like character Joe Camel on the packets of Camel cigarettes.
The reason that the tobacco companies marketed to the young was not because they are evil and want to corrupt youth.
The main reason was that if a person was not hooked on nicotine by the age of about 20, the chances of them becoming a customer (i.e. a smoker) in later years were much reduced. They needed to get the addiction begun early, otherwise they would (and now are) facing a declining market, at least in the regulated West.
I wonder if a similar principle operates with gambling? We should be on the look out for schemes intended to attract youth to betting, notwithstanding the statutory licencing objectives, one of which is supposed to protect children ...
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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You think we have a problem... check out Victoria. Apparently NSW is even more dependent.
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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As far as FOBTs are concerned, I was told by someone senior in one of the big four Betting shop operators a couple of weeks ago that they're a very sensitive issue for the industry. Apparently without them the high street shops would be sunk. It's that simple.
He also told me a story of a competitor in Croydon who's subdivided their shop into two separate premises just so they can double the amount of FOBTs they can have (the current limit is four per premises).
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