TERRY HYDE

Without giving my age away, I have enjoyed having a bet for quite a long time!

When I joined the Players' Panel for Entain, I was asked about safer gambling and it got me thinking about how betting has changed over the years.

One of the biggest and most positive changes is around responsible gambling, and I am delighted that the industry is coming together once again to support Safer Gambling Week.

If you read some newspapers, you would think it was the Wild West with nothing to protect gamblers or help them when they have a problem. But in my experience as a seasoned punter, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Messages about responsible gambling are everywhere. They are all over every bookmaker and my friends and I all get emails, texts and see adverts from the bookies encouraging us to bet safely. This is a massive change from the ways of the past.

There are also so many tools available to people now to help them stay in control. You have the ability to exclude yourself and control how much you spend so you don’t go over your limits. There are reminders about how much time and money you have spent too.

Personally I don’t use many of these tools, but it’s good to know they are there if I ever needed them.

I am in favour of doing more to protect people who might have a gambling problem. But it is important to get the balance right, and make sure punters are betting safely without restrictions taking the enjoyment out of it.

I am glad that the Players’ Panel is giving a voice to people like me who want to get the balance right.

Terry Hyde is a member of the Entain Players' Panel