Reginald Barrington wrote:Any bookies closing is a good thing for Dover, still far too many.
Agreed. FWIW my grandfather was a bookie. He made a fortune (it's difficult to lose if you offset incoming bets). My mother could remember wives knocking at his door pleading with him not to accept bets from their husbands. Some of his clients committed suicide.
I don't gamble. Not even the lottery.
Unfortunately, like everything else, gambling has gone on-line.
'From visiting a UK online casino to playing the National Lottery on the web, people are increasingly enjoying betting via internet platforms. Out of the £14.5 billion that was spent on gambling in the UK between October 2017 and September 2018, according to Gambling Commission figures, online gambling accounted for revenue of £5.6 billion. That is approximately 38.8% of the total figure. Online gambling activities include everything from casino betting and bingo apps to sports betting and lottery tickets. Indeed, the UK’s online gambling revenue is one of the highest in the world. Liberal legislation, compared to other countries’ gambling laws, and internet accessibility are thought to be the two primary reasons for the UK’s success, alongside more extensive marketing campaigns by the leading operators'.
The recent pandemic will have pushed even more on-line - the advert break on late night TV being full of plugs for FoxyBingo.com and other ways to alleviate boredom and give you a 'rush' ,all sitting on your mobile phone. What cold possibly be the harm?
The Genie is out of the bottle and I really don't see how we will ever get it back in.
What was once a rather tacky semi legal sub-culture is now apparently an 'industry' and there's far too much money (and tax revenue) involved.