Walking the streets this summer, I asked constituents to design their ideal high street – not one of them included a gambling shop, or even a bingo hall. The most moving and unexpected encounter was a meeting with a man I called Gambler A as he was leaving a betting shop. I expected him to design a high street with a betting shop, perhaps the one he had just stepped out of. But no. Pointedly, he chose a gym, a library, a newsagent and a launderette. Where’s the betting shop? I asked him, and he was unequivocal. Gambling has ruined my life, he said. It is an addiction just like alcohol and drugs. He moved me to tears.
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