I was amused by a glaring inconsistency on the BBC Radio 4’s ‘Today’ Programme on Friday, 14th December. As I was shaving, just before 7.00am, I listened to the interviewer, Justin Webb, haranguing a woman from the Advertising Standards Authority for not banning advertising by betting companies. Then at 8.28am, the sports presenter suggested that it might be appropriate to put £100 on horse No.4 running in the 1.30pm at Cheltenham. I don’t want to sound too sanctimonious about this, but it has always struck me as odd that the ‘Today’ Programme should give free advertising to the gambling industry by broadcasting horse-racing odds and then giving tips as to which horses listeners should bet on. But on Friday, it was not just odd, it was flagrantly hypocritical.
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