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Cllr Tracy Ismail |
‘Betting shop raiders pointed gun at my head’
Ex-bookmaker leads gambling inquiry
AN investigation into gambling in Islington is being led by a former bookmaker who has been verbally abused, spat at, and had a gun pointed at her head, it is revealed this week.
Lib Dem councillor Tracy Ismail, a mother-of-two, was a betting shop manager in Islington for 13 years before being elected to St George’s ward in 2006.
Her all-party committee is calling for a restriction on the number of gambling outlets, as well as the monitoring of those which are already established.
Talking about her experiences, she described how frustrated gamblers smashed up shops she managed after losing money.
“I’ve also had a gun pointed at me by raiders,” she said. “They then jumped over the counter – in the days when they could – and held me up. I was spat at and called names.”
The saddest thing was punters coming into her shop on Friday and losing all their wages, she said. “They would often tell their wives they were mugged on the way home. But, of course, you can only get away with that excuse once.”
She remembers seeing punters popping out to a cashpoint two or three times in a day. “It was heartbreaking,” she said. “I’d say: ‘Don’t you think you’ve lost enough?’ But often they would get aggressive if you refused to take their bets and then you’d get a mouthful of abuse.”
She believes that while a few punters can budget and control their gambling, the majority are out of control. “Gambling is not just an addiction, it is a routine,” she said. “The betting shop becomes like a social club, mainly for middle-aged and elderly men looking for company.
“People did get banned from our shops, but never for spending too much of their hard-earned cash. It would only be for bad behaviour.”
Cllr Ismail does not favour closing existing betting shops and believes that punters who want to kick the habit can get help from Gamcare and Gamblers Anonymous.
“People have to recognise themselves that they have a problem,” she said. “But the shops also need to be well managed and monitored.”
She is particularly concerned about gaming casinos which have grown up around Archway and the Nag’s Head in Holloway.
“They attract young and vulnerable people,” she said.
She called on the public to join the debate on gaming and betting shops. |
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