165. Criminals

The story about the man who was given a five year prison sentence for offences relating to multiple betting accounts and potentially chargebacks really just confirmed a long held belief. The industry is so dodgy. The full details are still not clear as to exactly what happened.  As a punter though if we want to bet on sports we are made to feel like a criminal. Like we are doing something underhand and illegal. Not only that but the current system in place actually encourages behaviour of questionable intent. 

It is 2023 for goodness sake. Online betting and betting in general has been perfectly legal in the UK for as long as I can remember. We are not talking about the 1930’s with gangsters or the mob being involved and illegal/underground bookmakers. This is supposed to be a respectable industry. We see shops on every high street corner. We are bombarded with adverts on TV, radio and the Internet. Sporting events are littered with gambling adverts. It’s everywhere. Big business. Billion dollar companies.

So why does it feel so dirty and that you are doing something so wrong, by getting involved with it? If you have the temerity to win you are restricted in the blink of an eye. Your business is not welcome here. You are essentially blacklisted. Not only that but you are subject to the whims of the bookie and the wild west of KYC and verification if you want to get your money back out. Sending photos of things not requested for by any other industry. You feel like you must have done something wrong or are just plain stupid. Once you have sent the same f*****g photograph of you holding your utility bill for the 4th time and it is then accepted. Customer services where decisions are not to be discussed. Straight bans from using our products. Again implying some level of wrongdoing. 

I have been into a few shops in recent months having not done so for a few years. When you walk in looking at some of the dregs of society on the FOBTs. Always aware of what a dangerous place it is to be carrying cash. It feels shady and unwelcoming. Before the inevitable restrictions come. Either because they think you have lost too much. Or because you are winning too much. Sometimes both in the same shop. Constantly made to feel unwelcome. A game of cat and mouse. As they saunter over asking for ID. Giving the impression to all that you have somehow done something wrong. When you see your photo behind the counter as if you are some type of criminal. So many different things happen. None of them positive.

It’s little wonder that people might try and do something like multi accounting. The bookmakers give such incentives to new accounts it is no surprise that people will try and take advantage of them. Remove the free bets and you remove a huge amount of multi accounting. Not all. It is inevitable people will try it when their options are as follows. Multi account with family and friends accounts. Use dodgy bookmakers in foreign countries where you get no rights or protection. Use the black market. Use exchanges. By restricting everyone so quickly the bookmakers are encouraging this type of behaviour. Let’s be clear. Multi accounting isn’t good behaviour. It is very shady and very questionable. If you want a bet on certain markets you are forced to tread into some very grey areas.

It is why the industry in its current guise is so pathetic. Just use exchanges people will say. I have always said the huge majority of what I do is on exchanges and I have adapted specifically for it to be that way. That doesn’t mean they are perfect. I still pay 49% of my winnings in commission/premium charges. It is akin to the mobster knocking on your door asking for his outrageous cut each week for you to remain in business. Are you doing something untoward to justify those charges? The answer to all these questions is of course no. Mostly you are just trying to place a bet on a sporting outcome. 

You would much rather it be in your name but of course the industry is so broken that it becomes increasingly difficult to do so. That is the reality. A situation the bookmakers have created through their operating policies and awful regulation. The upcoming White Paper will no doubt paper over a few cracks here and there. Will possibly address affordability in some way. Will probably leave it all very vague and ambiguous. Maybe the bookies contribute a bit more to helping with gambling harm. However, it will completely and utterly fail to address what has become a completely broken system/industry designed to just line the pockets of a few big corporations at the expense of the general public.

Why should I have to get involved with all sorts of shady activities and be made to feel like a criminal for wanting to place a bet. Using a product, we see advertised legally, literally everywhere, everyday. In the hope of actually winning some money. Surely, that is what the aspiration of placing a bet is about. That’s not what we are told now though. It’s all about the entertainment derived from placing that losing bet. The problem is that increasing numbers of people can’t even do that. 

This is an industry that is supposed to provide the customer with a fair and safe environment to partake in a national pastime. The regulators have enabled and facilitated anything but. It has failed the punter catastrophically. In fact they are encouraging these very questionable behaviours.