Punters stood bemused and dazed in Betfred betting shops up and down the country last week as Fred Done announced he’d just lifted £32 million from their pockets and then turned their televisions off on them!

Fred, who has finally dragged his ever-struggling business back into the black, decided to pull the plug on live racing pictures to his shops just as his cheque cleared at the bank. As punters stood staring at blank screens in Fred’s shops, William Hill staff ran to the rescue shining torches into his shops shouting “there is light at the end of the road – in our shops”.

Pay day money lender Fred, renowned for his scrooge like manner, poured his heart out in an open letter and stuck a 2nd class stamp on it, proclaiming “draconian action to limit stakes on FOBTs, would leave the racing industry irretrievably damaged.”

Conveniently overlooking the fact he had just switched off live racing broadcast to his shops and was refusing to cough up to the racing industry, Fred pleaded “don’t take my FOBTs away”.

Charlie Brookes at the Telegraph took umbrage with Fred and Ladbrokes, who also switched the TVs off. At the same time as cutting live racing pictures to their shops and broadcasting pirated pictures instead, they were pressuring the racing industry to support them on FOBTs. The bookmakers get smarter by the day!

Content produced and sponsored by Stop the FOBTs