Betting & Gambling

Betting and gambling are now legal activities in the UK, although for much of the past they have not, due to their harmful effects. The first law against them was the Unlawful Games Act of 1541. Nevertheless, gambling continued and horse racing was the first sport to become a focus for bookmakers, the first of whom was Harry Ogden of Newmarket, who in the mid-1790s devised the system of laying ‘odds’ on each horse.

Today, betting shops, bingo halls, casinos, the National Lottery and online betting games are all regulated by the UK Gambling Commission and the Gambling Act of 2005.

There are various support services for those people who unfortunately become addicted to gambling.

The photo above shows one of the main betting shops to be found on a British high street, namely William Hill. Ladbrokes, Coral, Paddy Power and BetFred are some of the others. Their windows used to have to be covered up so as not to tempt casual, morally weak passers-by, but this no longer applies quite so much. Such outlets were legalised in the 1960s in order to raise more revenue for the Government. Today they are tending to close their premises and focus on the internet market.

(Image: Pam Brophy at geograph.org.uk / CC BY-SA 2.0)