Working at a bet shop means that I get to interact with a lot of people daily. In the midst of our interactions, one of our key responsibilities is to ensure minors don't patronise our service.
The idea is that minors, along with drunk and generally inebriated people are considered vulnerable. So, in essence, this rule is in place to prevent exploitation of certain groups.
For what it's worth, I think this is actually good. Minors, drunks and really, anyone should absolutely not be exploited. So, what about vaping, smoking and drinking?
The moment anyone that remotely looks underage walks into the shop, I'm required to flag them immediately. I don't mean a few seconds after, I mean immediately. The minor shouldn't even glance at any of the machines or ever bet.
Also, even if a minor walks in with an adult and the minor isn't gambling, it is still not allowed.
My question is, how is there such a strict gambling restriction but I see kids vaping in secondary school uniforms. I've seen a couple of kids drunkenly walking past police cars, what's up with that?
One culture shock I've experienced in the UK is that everyone really minds their business.
I remember sitting behind a secondary school student that was vaping on the bus. I and all the others were not comfortable with this but no one said anything.
First of all, the bus is a no smoking area and secondly, it's a minor. However, everyone and me included, kept quiet when a minor smoked in public. I don't know, I just feel like this whole mind your business thing isn't always right.
