Say "No!" to a National Register of Gamblers

The government is interfering and prying into our lives more and more. Our freedom to spend our time and money how we like is under threat from the political elite who think their job is to protect us from ourselves.

This is particularly true for people who enjoy a bet. We have been made to feel as though our hobby is dangerous and that we can’t be trusted to spend our own hard-earned money.

Now the Gambling Commission regulators want to take this one step further by creating a national register of gamblers. They want to force all betting companies share their customers’ financial and betting data with each other so they can track where when and how you spend your money.

This is an unbelievable intrusion into the privacy of me and my fellow gamblers. There is no other pastime where anything like this would ever be considered. Imagine the government creating a national register of pub drinkers or theatre-goers.

Yet again the betting population of Britain – which is actually more than half of us – is being treated like criminals and fools. It has to stop.

It doesn’t surprise me that anti-gambling activists would push for this kind of new law. They can never accept that the vast majority of people bet safely and that everyone who bets is personally responsible for their own choices. 

But for the national regulator to even consider this suggests they are completely out of touch with the people they are supposed to serve – us, the punters. I am a sensible gambler but I am also a private individual who would be very reluctant to have my personal information circulated unnecessarily.

I know very few of my betting friends who would be comfortable having their data shared between dozens or hundreds of different companies – and most would be furious at the idea.

Not only is betting a national pastime, it is part of our national heritage and keeps many sports like horseracing alive.  People who bet should be able to enjoy our hobby and we should be celebrating it instead of being made to feel ashamed through measures like this.