Is there such a thing as socially responsible gambling?

It's good to start the year with a different sector to focus on: gambling.

On BBC 4's "Today" programme this morning there was a discussion about the profits from the fixed-odds gambling terminals (FOGT) which were reported as contributing a significant proportion of profits to gambling organisation Betfred. FOGT is a high-speed, high-stakes betting terminal and can be particularly addictive for some. The Betfred representative stated that they were "committed to socially responsibile gambling" but making the statement doesn't really say much.

Betfred aggressively markets FOGT as evidenced by a media story which broke just before Christmas about staff wages being linked to fixed-odds terminal profits. If you look at their website they have a section on "Responsible Gambling" which states that for a few, gambling may no longer be fun and that their Customer Services team are trained to deal with aspects of responsible gambling such as setting maximum limits on accounts.

However, this whole picture looks a lot like the PPI mis-selling scandal where profits came before treating customers fairly and responsibly, where staff were targeted to sell aggressively  and where accountability from the top was non-existent. What kind of redress do vulnerable gambling customers have? Where is the real, demonstrable commitment to social responsibility?

The failing in ethical behaviours always starts at the top. Here's another example to start the year.