Sport is made for betting

This case has been brewing a while, and it surprises me that TAB Ltd (now part of TABCorp) hasn't been taken to task on it. A NSW lawyer lost millions of other people's money and was given credit by a government agency. Yes, he is responsible for his own actions but the government shouldn't have been a party to encouraging him. Their addiction to gambling taxes is bigger than any individual punter. Click here for the article.

Big story this week in the UK press is of a leading greyhound trainer suing bookmaker William Hill for £2m, after the punter had self-excluded himself. Daily Mail article Gambling unfortunately attracts people with addictive personalities and people who simply can't stop betting, despite what their bank balance tells them. Stories from casinos in particular where gamblers simply bet their lives away hurt the entire industry which works hard to keep itself above the seedy reputation earned by a tiny minority of establishments. Companies in the better-regulated jurisdictions all have responsible gambling policies, where problem gamblers can stop themselves from betting with a company via self-exclusion measures. The punter here alleges he started gambling again just weeks after he sought self-exclusion with Hills, and they agreed to it. Then he proceeded to lose £2m fairly quickly. It's easy to blame the punter for his lack of self-discipline, but if William Hill have committed t...