tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7733583.post5450751519552432941..comments2024-03-04T08:34:20.376+00:00Comments on John's Labour blog: Newham Annual Council Meeting 2012John Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14269161145575667147noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7733583.post-65276210234241014742012-05-29T23:06:32.647+01:002012-05-29T23:06:32.647+01:00Hi Macuser
No, I don't think so. In my job as...Hi Macuser<br /><br />No, I don't think so. In my job as a housing officer and as a trade union rep I have come across many people who lives have been completely destroyed by "the bookies". Not only their lives but also their families. <br /><br />If you have a gambling addiction there is not a casino on every street corner. They are highly regulated and number strictly controlled and while I have no doubt, like pubs and tobacco shops, they will have a social cost I cannot believe that it will be anything as bad as numerous and uncontrolled high street book makers.<br /><br />Look, I totally accept that for the vast majority of punters it is a harmless form of entertainment. But it is not just a dozen Betfreds per Asper's but hundreds of them. The Council is pretty powerless to stop them turning any high street former shop into a bookies unless the law is changed.John Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14269161145575667147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7733583.post-26421672493935743382012-05-29T13:16:20.074+01:002012-05-29T13:16:20.074+01:00John,
I think the anonymous commenter makes a fai...John,<br /><br />I think the anonymous commenter makes a fair point. It is a touch two-faced to oppose one form of gambling establishment while enthusiastically embracing another.<br /><br />High street bookies appeal to the ordinary everyday punter who wants to put a few quid on the horses or the dogs; by contrast Aspers wants to encourage gambling on a much grander scale. I know which I think is worse and the more dangerous. <br /><br />Sticking London's largest casino in one of its poorest boroughs is an obscenity. I'd rather have a dozen BetFreds or Ladbrokes in Newham than a single Aspers.<br /><br />No doubt you'll trot out the line about the job opportunities created for local people, but high street bookies employ people too. And I bet they employ a higher percentage of local people than that glitzy casino.macuser_e7noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7733583.post-16678088175895447272012-05-28T13:40:42.915+01:002012-05-28T13:40:42.915+01:00Hi anon
it’s a view I suppose but not one widely ...Hi anon<br /><br />it’s a view I suppose but not one widely shared in Newham.<br /><br />Actually it’s a nonsense to compare bookies and casinos. The location and number of casinos are highly regulated while bookies are not.John Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14269161145575667147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7733583.post-58615176768444326212012-05-28T11:25:39.096+01:002012-05-28T11:25:39.096+01:00Typical Newham Council: You are against betting sh...Typical Newham Council: You are against betting shops, but you did nothing to stop the casino in Westfield. You are not fit to govern, as you have such inconsistent policies....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com