Day Out at Twickenham Courtesy of Gambling Body
Kevin Brennan, the Labour MP for Cardiff West, once accused the UK Government of “a betrayal of his ministerial colleague and his two predecessors as Secretary of State, as well as the victims and their families, whose lives have been blighted by gambling addiction” for purposely delaying the rollout of reduced max stakes in 2018. That’s not all, he also went on to say his father who used to enjoy a weekly 10 bob Yankee down the bookies would be “appalled at the sheer volume of advertising and the dodgy practices that are going on in picking on vulnerable people in relation to gambling.”
It's safe to say Brennan has an issue with gambling practices and has in the past called for more to be done. He even admitted the Government got the fixed odds betting terminals (FOBT’s) campaign all wrong and urged for a review to maximise the fun but minimise the harm. But it would seem what he says and does are two very different things as it was revealed Brennan received a hospitality ticket to the biggest fixture in the Rugby Six Nations – England vs Wales at Twickenham on February 26th, a ticket valued at more than £1,100 which was kindly gifted to him by the Betting and Gaming Council.
Four’s No Crowd
A total of four MP’s attended the clash which saw England snatch glory from the clutches of Wales’ finest players, with Wayne David, the Labour MP for Caerphilly, Nigel Evans, the Conservative MP Ribble Valley, and Caroline Dineage, the Conservative MP for Gosport also received tickets at the expense of the Betting and Gaming Council which represent bookmakers, casinos and online gambing companies.
The revelation of free tickets has come as a shock to many and people are wanting answers but all four have declined to comment (so far). The all-party group on Gambling Related Harm led by MP Carolyn Harris (Swansea East) wants the Government to continue with its commitment to reduce gambling related harms (keeping it fun!), and not just with FOBT’s but on slot machines too as well as a ban on betting advertising in sporting events.
The biggest opposition to such measures is The Betting and Gaming Council who want no such restrictions. Former Labour MP Michael Duggar the chair for the body, expressed that a maximum limit on slot machines – both at land based gambling venues and at online bingo and casino websites are nothing but “draconian, arbitrary measures.” Duggar believes you cannot tell people what they should be allowed to spend.
What do you make of it? Should anti-gambling MP’s be allowed to accept gifts from gambling bodies? Should maximum limits be imposed on slot machines? Let us know your thoughts below.
Source: “Welsh MP Accepted Wales v England hospitality from Betting Body Despite Speaking Out About Dangers of Gambling”. Nation Cymru. March 19, 2022.
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Comments (1)
lollipops321 03/22/22, 12:03:40 PM
I think any gift from a gambling body is bad and shouldn’t be allowed. As for max stakes on slots, I think we already have enough restrictions. Operators can now see how much you earn and decide how much you can spend, so reducing that further is not good in my opinion.
