How exciting. The long awaited white paper on Gambling Regulation. Years in the making. Leak after leak in the media as to what it will contain. I might be alone but I couldn’t be more underwhelmed by it. It changes so little in reality. I won’t discuss the finer details of the white paper. We have no idea how they intend to implement certain proposals contained within it or when. Instead I will elaborate on my statement that the industry is getting the white paper it deserves.
It sounds harsh as it potentially affects a lot of people. However, the writing has been on the wall for a very long time. You could not look at this industry 15/20 years ago and not see it as completely broken. What we are left with is punters again discarded on the scrap heap. It is incredibly hard to unite individuals to stand up and fight against huge billion pound companies, to fight against a media who is in the pockets of those companies, fight against a regulator who seemingly has no clue what they are doing, politicians who are openly corrupt and gambling reform organisations with increasingly deep pockets hellbent on banning all gambling. Throw that all into the mix and we are left with what is unfolding in front of our eyes. Punters are not even an afterthought in this whole process.
People cannot complain about the industry we have been left with if they have never been willing to voice concerns about it. If they have just been hoping the status quo will remain. If they have chosen to turn a blind eye to issues that have been there for all to see. The problem is that unless something drastic changes, the situation for the punter will simply get bleaker and bleaker moving forwards. Do you really think some of the anti gambling organisations will be sated by these proposals? Do you think the bookmakers wont try every trick in the book to eek out that little bit more profit at the expense of the customer? Do you really have faith that the Gambling Commission or potentially an Ombudsman will have your best interests at heart? Do you really think the Racing Post or other media outlets are suddenly going to actually put the punter at the forefront of their agendas? The situation is only going to get worse and people have to understand that if you do nothing you lose the right to complain about it.
As someone who does this for a living some of these changes will impact me more than others. Does the future look bleak for Betfair and the exchange model? Yes I think it does. This white paper hasn’t changed much though as a lot of things are already being implemented. No doubt we will have to continue to adapt to the new challenges that are put in front of us. That’s not to say it doesn’t get tiring or is always particularly easy to do. I would never expect to be done any favours though or expect the industry to suddenly become even remotely fair.
With these tweets I have tried to highlight some of the issues facing punters (both from a pro punter perspective and a normal punters). It is like banging your head against a brick wall at times. People don’t care about these things until it is far too late. When I say people have no one to blame but themselves they choose which figures within a sport such as Horse Racing they want to put as the figureheads of that sport. Those with the greatest reach. Those media profiles with the biggest influence. They have been let down so badly by the bigger personalities within the betting world and particularly racing. These people have shown they are only interested in themselves. More than happy to take the money the bookmakers are offering them. They have been slurping from the gravy train for so long that they know no different. Feasting on those losing punters. They have had the platform to raise some of the issues that are now faced. They chose not to do so when it really mattered or when it wasnt the en vogue thing to do. Doing the odd show here or there has such a minimal impact. Nothing more than vanity projects. Your customers/followers deserved so much more. In hindsight maybe they got exactly what they deserved. It’s not just a Horse Racing issue though.
In terms of the white paper itself something had to be done about Responsible Gambling. All these sorts of proposals do though is leave the majority of punters with decreasing options, none of which are good. Take your action overseas or to the Black Market. Or you exit the game. Sports like Horse Racing will suffer disproportionately. I still find it bewildering that there is a complete inability to differentiate between different types of gambling products. I suspect that the bookmakers are quite happy with that situation.
One aspect people should be worried about is that SCV looks like it is going nowhere. The idea of bookmakers sharing even more information about you is not a good thing. They will undoubtedly abuse the situation for greater profitability. Naïve to think otherwise. How any of these things will actually impact things in the real world no one knows. I don’t expect much to change in the short term apart from the continued gradual demise of the industry. More accounts restricted. More affordability checks. More people leaving the industry.
As usual with the betting industry and regulation everything is incredibly vague. Open to interpretation. That usually means those with the loudest voices or deepest pockets will get what they crave. One thing that does ring loud and clear from the white paper is this though. The Government are happy for the bookmakers to continue to act in a completely predatory nature. Betting should be full of winners and losers. With the way things currently stand you are only welcome to participate in this game if you are a loser and that is very very wrong.
ProPunting 