Wayne La Pierre is CEO of the National Rifle Association (NRA) in the US. A favourite line of the NRA is that “guns don’t kill – bad guys kill”.

The NRA does not accept that restricting the product, the access or the marketing would limit the harm. The NRA claims that controls affect freedoms. Yet there is no other country with the level of gun use harm that the US has. Far-right corporate funded think-tanks, such as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) support the NRA.

Malcolm George is the CEO of the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB). His favourite line is that “betting shops are the safest places to gamble”.  

The ABB does not accept that restricting the product, the access, or the marketing would limit the harm. The ABB claims that controls affect freedoms. Yet there is no other country with the FOBT harm that the UK has. Far-right corporate-funded think-tanks, such as the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) support the ABB.

The AEI and the IEA are a mirror image, as are the NRA and the ABB. It is always easy to invoke “freedom” in order to oppose regulation. But libertarianism has no future if it keeps putting corporate freedom first.

What motivated Mr. La Pierre and Mr. George on their chosen career paths? Was it the freedom to make money regardless of the consequences?

Content produced and sponsored by Stop the FOBTS