Gambling Violence

SavySeph's manga referred to a case in Scotland where a man was given life sentence for causing violence in a betting shop. After losing £200 Mark Rutter, 40 smashed up a few machines and attacked two bookie shop's staff demanding to get back his money. He punched one man and injured the other with a pair of scissors then fled after taking £200 from the till in a William Hill's shop.

Rutter's case was seen as an angry punter losing control and resorted to violence. In another reported case of enraged punter using violence, David Brogan smashed up 4 machines with a hammer after losing £700 in a William Hill shop which I cover in my blog Beserk Addiction. Since nobody was hurt, Borgan got off the hook by paying compensation for the machine which he destroyed. In comparison Borgan's case differs significantly with Rutter.

• Borgan was a first time offender while Rutter had criminal history of criminal violence,
• There was no life threatening situation Borgan's case,
• Borgan destroyed property but hurt nobody,
• Rutter threaten staff and took money from the till.

Rutter case was deemed as robbery and thus had his previous offenses stacked against him. Jim Keegan QC, Rutter's defense, claimed that the gaming machines had sparked violence throughout Britain. He pointed out that many incidents were unreported because it would jeopardize the shop's business operations and admitted: "I don't say that excuses the level of violence which was used after the accused went across the counter and attacked the two men. But the machine was the catalyst". Keegan QC is trying to associate Rutters case to that of angry punters to divert it from being deemed as armed robbery resulting in life threatening injury but Judge Lord Uist was not convinced.

Looking at the merit of both cases they do not qualify as precedence. If Britain is serious about curbing the violence in Fixed Odds Betting Terminal (FBOT) premises that the former Treasury Minister fear will spill over to the High Streets, then cases similar to Beserk Addiction should be given a steep punishment to act as a deterrent.

Gunshot at Casino

A 23 year old Milwaukee woman was shot in the leg after a fight broke out at Potawatomi Casino, Menomonee Valley, Milwaukee on June 16 2013. A 27 year old Wauwatosa man was arrested at the scene. The suspect had a history of bad criminal records, the 620WTMJ (Wisconsin's Radio News) reported.

Gabriella, an eyewitness to the incident, had expressed her fears and dissatisfaction over the way the matter was handled. Security is clearly lacking in this casino. The gun should not even be in the casino in the first place. The metal detectors will buzz like crazy when you try to pass a gun through it. For it to go unnoticed the safety crew must be sleeping on the job or could not care less. No matter how they beef up security it will happen again because of this apathetic attitude. Ironically, incidents such as these will not deter Gabriella or other hard core gamblers from revisiting the premises.

Add Betting Shops to Pubs

In a move to revitalize high streets pubs are allowed to set up betting shops, the the UK Daily Mail reported on 29 May 2013. The ruling come into force on the date of publication. Again tax revenue from gambling is seen as a solution to boost the economy (see SavySeph's Blog for a similar line of argument). While policy makers use fear of Britain’s high streets turning into ghost towns to justify themselves, critics expressed their concern about high street being ‘overrun’ with bookmakers and payday lenders. Progress at the expense of social ills is the central theme for debate.

As long as gambling is present the complimentary industries will also mushroom along with it. A related article reported that payday lenders are experts when it comes to preying on minors because they are easier targets. Instead of churning out prosperity, it will only create more ghettos. A Labour source added: ‘This would mirror the unfortunate system in Australia where betting shops are found in large bars. They are placed in a defined area within the pub where beer cannot be consumed but have led to real problems where people go out on a night out and end up blowing a lot of money on booze and gambling.’

This are the typical stigmatization attached to gamblers. They see all gamblers as irrational and consuming alcohol will add on to it. Casinos had been offering alcoholic beverages to patrons without much incidents. I don't see a difference as betting shops are not new to Britain. Surely there would be a pub in the vicinity of these betting shops. The greater concern should be on the payday lenders targeting minors.