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Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

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Tags for Forum Posts: betting shops, gambling, green lanes

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After all that missed the first few minutes due to domestic calamity. But was a long piece; when I could concentrate again was Mr Paddy Power himself vs Dianne Abbott. His argument was that lots of betting shops opening up will obey market forces - the weaker ones will go to the wall. So no problem with ever-increasing numbers, eventually some will close. Reminded me of the arguments cigarette makers used to use about advertising - its all about market share and nothing at all to do with increasing the number of people who do it.

Will try and listen to the whole thing later. Was on at around 17.35 if anyone else wants to hear it.
An apt comparison Alison. The fag companies also claimed that they were not targeting children or young adults despite much evidence to the contrary. It was they claimed, as you suggest, all about getting existing customers to switch.

I suspect that, as with addiction to nicotine, if someone hasn't developed a habit by say age 21, the chances of it happening at a later age are much reduced. To be fair to the excreble Government Gambling Act 2005, one of its objects is to protect children. But this begs this question: children grow up to be adults, what is done to protect them?

It seems counter-intuitive that these businesses would not want to grow their overall sales; where those sales come from isn't so important. The need for licensing in the first place is partly because it has obsessive-compulsive aspects. Greengrocers don't need licensing.
Yes, I heard this too, on PM. Mr Paddy Power kept saying that betting shops open only where there are people with "disposable income" , though as Diane Abbot pointed out, they don't mean Beachamp Place, but target poor communities like Haringey and Hackney (which apparently has nine in one short stretch of street - that's even more than Harringay which has seven.)
Disposable Income Don't you just love these marvellous phrases of economists? Yes, it has a traditional definition that goes along the lines of wages or salary left over for discretionary spending after the essentials are paid for: rent or mortgage payment, food, lecky etc. It makes a certain sense in a narrow way.

If I paid for all my essentials including big mortgage payments on a big house plus a wide range of luxury services by regular Direct Debit, that would probably mean I had little disposable income because of the degree of prior commitment.

Conversely, if I keep next week's housekeeping cash in my pocket available for spending in the next hour, is that disposable? If I borrow £100 from my brother-in-law and put the notes in my pocket, is that disposable income too? If I burgle some houses, fence the electrical gear and end up with £500 in my pocket, can that be thought of as "disposable income"?

Mr Paddy Power is disingenuous and in this context is being meaningless. 'Disposable Income' sounds sophisticated, but he just means ready cash.
I noticed that the Coral up near Colina Rd does not have any fixed-odds betting machines. Does anyone know why? Licensing issue?
I wonder how long it will be before Green Lanes is also full of lap-dancing clubs - another licencing loophole, as they fall into the category of pubs and cafes, not "sex encounter" establishments. There are areas of Hackney and Tower Hamlets where these clubs proliferate alongside bookies.
It seems strange that the residents of a local area and even the council have no power to stop the character of their neighbourhood being changed for the worse.
Can we concentrate on bookies? Lap dancing clubs are an entirely different kettle of fish and we're just SOOO unlikely to get one.
I wonder what odds Ladbrokes would offer on the chance of getting a lap-dancing club ?
Could be worth a flutter :-)
Maddy, John and John D, you've given me an inspiration and (as Alan says below) highlighted once again Hol's rich potential for crowd sourcing ideas:

To make Green Lanes bookies and lap dancing clubs truly symbiotic, why not have winnings from the former paid in the form of vouchers for the latter? We have dozens of Turkish/Kurdish restaurants, hair salons and foodshops just waiting for transformation. Paddy Power, I'll be your best customer.
@John... tut tut.. OT! But perhaps this may help::

Sexual repression is often associated with feelings of guilt or shame being associated with sexual impulses
Why is it SOOO unlikely, John? Someone tried to open one in the middle of Crouch End last year, in an old Salvation Army hall, though admittedly the application was turned down. I agree it's a different issue, but what's interesting is that up to now there has been a similar situation to betting shops where residents were unable to influence the planning decisions that affected their neighbourhood. However, in the case of lapdancing clubs there is apparently legislation planned to change their planning status and make it harder to open one - whether this will go through under a different government I don't know.
See this post for more info.

Gambling != Naked Ladies.

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