Hyndburn MP Graham Jones and betting chain William Hill at odds over shops

12:21pm Tuesday 18th September 2012 in News Photograph of the Author By Bill Jacobs, Local government reporter

HYNDBURN MP Graham Jones and bookies William Hill have got all of a flutter over betting shops in the borough.

Mr Jones said, on his website, he was concerned there were 22 of the shops, but the bookies have disputed this, saying there are only 12.

Now Hill’s have invited him to visit a Hyndburn betting shop to research gambling, and offered a free charity bet to update his understanding of the odds.

Last week Mr Jones blogged: “I am deeply concerned about the number of bookmakers in Hynd- burn and Haslingden, and the impact of the Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs) that appear to be driving this growth.

“Fairer Gambling indicate there are as many as 22 in Hyndburn.

“The reason behind this increase, I believe, is the profit-ability of FOBTs. The Gambling Act 2005 limited each betting shop to four, but bookies leap-frog regulations by opening up as many shops as possible.FOBTs have been described as the “crack cocaine of gambling” because of their propensity to turn people who enjoy a bet into problem gamblers.

“It is possible to stake up to £100 every twenty seconds on the machines, and to lose up to £18,000 an hour.”

Accusing Mr Jones of ‘some pretty wild and inaccurate stat-ements’, William Hill’s public affairs manager Lewis Rogers said: “Mr Jones said that there were are as many as 22 betting shops in Hyndburn, and that bookies were ‘opening up as many shops as possible’.

“There are only 12 betting shops in Hyndburn.

“Mr Jones described gaming machines as the ‘crack cocaine of gambling’. However there is no research to suggest that gaming machines have any effect on the way people gamble.

“Mr Jones then went on to claim that ‘it’s possible to lose up to £18,000 an hour’ on gam-ing machines. We ran the odds and, as machines generally return at around 97% to player, this is extremely unlikely.

“Unfortunately, for Mr Jones, you are actually more likely to win the National Lottery seven weekends in a row.

“It is a shame that Mr Jones saw fit to criticise a business that provides local jobs and training in his constituency on the basis of flawed research and hasty judgement.

“It appears Mr Jones bolted from the stalls, rather than analysing the form on this occasion.”

Mr Jones said: “I stand by my concerns,. The figures were not mine, but came from Fairer Gambling.”

Comments(16)

TobyTibbs says...
1:22pm Tue 18 Sep 12

And I thought the country was run by MPs who knew what they were talking about. You would think they would at least do their research first!

Report this post »

HelloKitty29 says...
1:35pm Tue 18 Sep 12

Graham who?

Report this post »

makaveli96 says...
1:41pm Tue 18 Sep 12

Graham Jones to pass his Maths GCSE 50/1

Report this post »

ChrisAcc says...
2:33pm Tue 18 Sep 12

Must have given up,on his main focus,setting up a meeting with the Venky's and moved on to something else!!

Report this post »

Adrian Parkinson says...
2:58pm Tue 18 Sep 12

Lewis Roger's rebuttal of Graham Jones's comments are utter lies. I am a former Regional Gaming Manager with one of the high street chains & Lewis knows he is misleading people.
1. There is no research into effect of FOBT because none has ever been commissioned - the bookmakers are terrified of what it will show.
2. FOBT Do not payout at 97% - that is a complete lie! They operate on a "theoretical" margin of 2.7% PER SPIN. Hence the cumulative effect of a session of plays is that the machine will retain MINIMUM 17% of your cash.
3. Roulette - the principal game played on FOBT is by nature, highly addictive.
4. The high stake, fast spin nature of Roulette as played on FOBT (very different to Casino Roulette) leads players to stake up and therefore accumulate bigger losses. Bookmakers know this.
Lewis is quite inexperienced in this field and is just espousing company the company line.

Report this post »

Gennoe1 says...
3:16pm Tue 18 Sep 12

Adrian Parkinson wrote:
Lewis Roger's rebuttal of Graham Jones's comments are utter lies. I am a former Regional Gaming Manager with one of the high street chains & Lewis knows he is misleading people.
1. There is no research into effect of FOBT because none has ever been commissioned - the bookmakers are terrified of what it will show.
2. FOBT Do not payout at 97% - that is a complete lie! They operate on a "theoretical" margin of 2.7% PER SPIN. Hence the cumulative effect of a session of plays is that the machine will retain MINIMUM 17% of your cash.
3. Roulette - the principal game played on FOBT is by nature, highly addictive.
4. The high stake, fast spin nature of Roulette as played on FOBT (very different to Casino Roulette) leads players to stake up and therefore accumulate bigger losses. Bookmakers know this.
Lewis is quite inexperienced in this field and is just espousing company the company line.
Melanie at the Mill Hill branch is HOT!!!!!!

Report this post »

RUinsane says...
4:22pm Tue 18 Sep 12

Bookies = Parasites
Mps = Parasites
Therefore Mps = Bookies

Report this post »

Steve4x4 says...
5:27pm Tue 18 Sep 12

Mr Jones you are an Ar######, get on with some real work, 10 shops 20 shops makes no difference, if folk are going to gamble they will gamble, lets face it......it's a safer bet than any of our politicians.

Report this post »

makaveli96 says...
6:47pm Tue 18 Sep 12

If you gamble on your credit cards and dont pay them back what is the issue?

Report this post »

BelTower says...
6:57pm Tue 18 Sep 12

Once again our MP jumps in with both feet without getting his facts right, and not for the first time He really is a first class prat.

Report this post »

Stuart Farquar says...
8:12pm Tue 18 Sep 12

Gambling is the new smoking.

Report this post »

accy lad and proud says...
8:44pm Tue 18 Sep 12

Jones The Dream strikes again ! This plant pot is on another planet ! Listen to your voters and get on with real problems in your constituancy you Richard !!!!!

Report this post »

John Peters says...
12:25am Wed 19 Sep 12

Anone who has lived with someone suffering from gambling adiction will be glad that someone in government is taking note and looking at the way in which bookmakers are realing in new victims. To the rest of you who say Mr. Jones should be doing something that affects his constituents, he is.. Gambling affects a lot of people not just those who gamble but their family members.

Report this post »

Cllr Ken Moss says...
9:00am Thu 20 Sep 12

Once again our local MP is addressing an issue which affects the vulnerable and is being shot down by armchair critics. I have had friends over the years who have suffered gambling addictions - marriages wrecked, homes lost, and lives ruined all because of the ease with which people are tempted to bet away their money. I still know several who have already spent their wages before payday because of debts incurred through gambling. It is a vicious cycle, piling the bandit for hours until they have no choice but to wait for it to drop. Payout isn't enough so they start again.... An old landlord once said to me that his bandits were his two best customers as he got a guaranteed return every week. It's easy money that is taken from those who can't really afford it and are lured in to betting because it is simply so easy to do.

Report this post »

Graham Jones MP says...
10:34pm Fri 21 Sep 12

accy lad and proud wrote:
Jones The Dream strikes again ! This plant pot is on another planet ! Listen to your voters and get on with real problems in your constituancy you Richard !!!!!
Ken; 'Accy Loud and Proud' behaves like some 'online Taliban'.

He hasn't anything positive say and thats why Accrington people ignore him.

Report this post »

HelloKitty29 says...
12:52pm Wed 26 Sep 12

Graham Jones MP wrote:
accy lad and proud wrote: Jones The Dream strikes again ! This plant pot is on another planet ! Listen to your voters and get on with real problems in your constituancy you Richard !!!!!
Ken; 'Accy Loud and Proud' behaves like some 'online Taliban'. He hasn't anything positive say and thats why Accrington people ignore him.
Wow. Graham Jones calls someone 'online taliban'. Hardly an appropriate comment for an MP!

Report this post »

click2find

About cookies

We want you to enjoy your visit to our website. That's why we use cookies to enhance your experience. By staying on our website you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more about the cookies we use.

I agree