Betting bosses yesterday, on February 24, claimed that greyhounds and racehorses
would have to be put down if ministers implement a crackdown on roulette-style machines.
Britain’s largest bookmakers have faced increasing calls
to ban or put restrictions on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs)
- which have been dubbed the ‘crack cocaine of gambling’.
As profits from FOBTs have increased, betting on racing has declined.
Users of the high-stakes games can lose £100 per spin and they have been blamed for a rise in problem gambling.
In recent weeks, the Mail has revealed how betting shop managers’ wages are linked
to how much cash punters pour into the machines .
But Ralph Topping, the boss of William Hill, Britain’s largest bookmaker,
has defended them on the grounds that the money they make supports other,
more traditional types of gambling. He said in an interview:
‘What funds greyhound racing and horse racing? Retail betting.
‘If you hit that you might as well get the stun guns ready
and start shooting the horse population and the greyhound population,
because horse racing isn’t going to survive in its current form.’
So, basicly betting bosses claim that if ministers ban FOBTs (which is very likely to occur),
they will have no money to support racehorses and greyhounds,
so they will have to put them down ?!
Really?!
Let us prevent this from happening!
