Is it right for Bournemouth council to gain from amusement arcades? (From Bournemouth Echo)
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Is it right for Bournemouth council to gain from amusement arcades?
5:00pm Tuesday 19th June 2012 in News By Stephen Bailey
MORAL ISSUE: Cllr Roger West asks whether it is right that Bournemouth Council runs the Pier Approach amusements
A COUNCILLOR questioned whether it was right for Bournemouth to make half a million pounds a year from gambling and arcade machines.
Roger West questioned the council’s ownership of the amusement arcade by Pier Approach, which brings in £459,000 a year.
He asked Tuesday’s full council meeting: “Should we be in effect encouraging gambling?
“I personally dislike any form of gambling as the social impact can be enormous for those residents and visitors who become addicted.
“For some it is a very slippery slope.
“I accept there will be residents and visitors who wish to use these machines.
“But is it a business that a council should be running?”
The council also rents out Happyland Amusements, just west of the Pier, generating another £19,000 a year.
Head of tourism Cllr Rod Cooper, pictured inset, said that the profits at the Pier Amusement have risen by 50 per cent in two years thanks to “good management”.
He said it provides a “considerable income” which underwrites many seafront services like beach cleaning.
“We have tried to make it family-friendly by increasing the number of 2p pushing machines,” explained Cllr Cooper.
He added: “I am not against people having a flutter on the Derby or using our arcades.
“Gambling is much more of a problem online or in betting shops than in amusement arcades.”
Cllr Cooper said that high-earning machines linked to dog racing were removed in 2009 and added that the council also makes a voluntary donation to a responsible gambling trust.
Comments(26)
ctrewyou
says...
5:33pm Tue 19 Jun 12
(I hope I haven't given anybody ideas about Mouchel running amusements, I didn't mean it chaps, honest, it' a terrible idea)
nothingtofear
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5:34pm Tue 19 Jun 12
chris100
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5:52pm Tue 19 Jun 12
im very suprised it doesnt make more money with the amount of fruits , pushers and the over 18s section
manyogie
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5:52pm Tue 19 Jun 12
bmth_bloke
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6:02pm Tue 19 Jun 12
Teddy 1
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6:10pm Tue 19 Jun 12
BIGTONE
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6:17pm Tue 19 Jun 12
Why don't you ask that question when the idiots at the Clown Hall are gambling with Millions of taxpayers money?
BmthNewshound
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6:43pm Tue 19 Jun 12
.
This is just a publicity stunt by West to get his face in the Echo.
addntox
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6:47pm Tue 19 Jun 12
Bob49
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6:51pm Tue 19 Jun 12
manyogie wrote:I would doubt the former as brothels in the UK are illegal
You get council tax from Brothels and sex shops.
I would hardly think this place is causing any great problem with regard to any gambling addiction.
Of far more concern should be the amusement arcades that appear to never have any customers yet are able to staffed and, one expects, for them to pay all dues required.
Surely they can't be there to allow monies acquired elsewhere, to be paid into the bank as having been the weeks takings from the arcade ?
Perhaps Cllr West might care to look a little closer into some of these premises instead.
s-pb2
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7:07pm Tue 19 Jun 12
BmthNewshound wrote:I may rarely agree with you, but i think you are spot on with this one
Roger West has been a councillor for quite a few years so why is he only raising this as an issue now ?
.
This is just a publicity stunt by West to get his face in the Echo.
ragj195
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7:46pm Tue 19 Jun 12
Bournefre
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7:51pm Tue 19 Jun 12
step up
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9:46pm Tue 19 Jun 12
BIGTONE wrote:Agree! If giving control to Mouchel wasn't a gambling I'd like to know what is!!
"He asked Tuesday’s full council meeting: “Should we be in effect encouraging gambling?"
Why don't you ask that question when the idiots at the Clown Hall are gambling with Millions of taxpayers money?
Gambling isn't illegal and for the vast majority it is a bit of harmless fun so there is no need for this high moral ground taking since don't we hear all the time about how tight budgets are?? Quite happy to close day centres for the poor souls who rely on them but then start fake moralising about a simple tourist attraction. God help us
In Absentia
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10:36pm Tue 19 Jun 12
Phixer
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12:17am Wed 20 Jun 12
No. Councils should not be running commercial businesses. Their purpose is to clean the streets and empty the bins.
oneshortleg
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6:57am Wed 20 Jun 12
mysticalshoelace
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7:43am Wed 20 Jun 12
Huey
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9:24am Wed 20 Jun 12
Of course we need tacky amusements.
Otherwise the council will look elsewhere for the £500k pa.
Ever been to Brighton Pier?
Phixer
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10:19am Wed 20 Jun 12
oneshortleg wrote:What are you saying? That all the commercial cafes, etc., are doing it for love?
I worked on the beach when i was in my teens, when all the catering, and other businesses were run by the council, over the years bit buy bit things have been sold off to make a fast buck. Back then the beach made a profit it doesn't now and I am sure the amusements are the only business that makes the beach viable!
If you hadn't noticed, we've moved on from the 'take it or leave it' choice favoured by public servants. Councils typically cannot react quickly to changing circumstances.
BourneRed
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10:43am Wed 20 Jun 12
BmthNewshound
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11:39am Wed 20 Jun 12
chris100
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2:52pm Wed 20 Jun 12
oneshortleg wrote:why do i get the feeling that this is going to lead to s&d leisure running the arcade like most of the other stuff on the seafront and gardens
I worked on the beach when i was in my teens, when all the catering, and other businesses were run by the council, over the years bit buy bit things have been sold off to make a fast buck. Back then the beach made a profit it doesn't now and I am sure the amusements are the only business that makes the beach viable!
for that arcade to only make 459k profit i suspect that money is going missing somewhere like it did back in the 80s or early 90s
do they take meter readings off all the machines every time they are emptied ???? if not i would love to know why not as they count every penny in and out and should work out correct every time
oneshortleg
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2:54pm Wed 20 Jun 12
chris100 wrote:was working on the beach at the time of the "big fiddle" some of those attendants were raking it in!
oneshortleg wrote:why do i get the feeling that this is going to lead to s&d leisure running the arcade like most of the other stuff on the seafront and gardens
I worked on the beach when i was in my teens, when all the catering, and other businesses were run by the council, over the years bit buy bit things have been sold off to make a fast buck. Back then the beach made a profit it doesn't now and I am sure the amusements are the only business that makes the beach viable!
for that arcade to only make 459k profit i suspect that money is going missing somewhere like it did back in the 80s or early 90s
do they take meter readings off all the machines every time they are emptied ???? if not i would love to know why not as they count every penny in and out and should work out correct every time
oneshortleg
says...
2:56pm Wed 20 Jun 12
Phixer wrote:Not saying that the commercial cafes are doing it for love, just that before the sell off began the beach was profitable!
oneshortleg wrote:What are you saying? That all the commercial cafes, etc., are doing it for love?
I worked on the beach when i was in my teens, when all the catering, and other businesses were run by the council, over the years bit buy bit things have been sold off to make a fast buck. Back then the beach made a profit it doesn't now and I am sure the amusements are the only business that makes the beach viable!
If you hadn't noticed, we've moved on from the 'take it or leave it' choice favoured by public servants. Councils typically cannot react quickly to changing circumstances.
Ivan Opinion says...
5:14pm Tue 19 Jun 12