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The Long Arm of the Petty Bureaucrat
Oct. 20th, 2005 01:09 pmAnd so, Gutshot gets summonsed. After a mere 18 months of trouble-free operation in the Clerkenwell Road, in comes a summons based on the 1968 Gaming act, which everyone agrees is out-of-date and in need of reform.
Thankfully, Gutshot plans to fight this the whole way and, with 11,000 members (not a few of them lawyers), this could be a case of the gaming commission biting off more than it can chew. After all, there has been no complaint from the police, from the neighbours, nor, I would hope, the customers.
Let's face it, the sole purpose of the summons is because the powers that be are petrified that they will lose out on revenue. It's nothing to do with maintaining the social fabric of society. If Gutshot was forced to become a casino, it could be "taxed" at a far higher rate. If Gutshot wins, then more card clubs will spring up, and the gaming commission will lose control of an area of the gaming industry (as well as the revenue from the licences). For a petty bureaucrat, losing a part of what he considers to be "his" empire is akin to cutting off his right arm.
The authorities have really shown themselves to be the pettiest of tosspots here. For once I was going to praise the police for their sensible attitude to something in society. But it appears that even getting the police to realise that something is working (in the words of David Lloyd, it isn't broken, so don't try to fix it) is not enough. There will always be some wanky publice service employee who has nothing better to do than to try to make life for the rest of us miserable.
I really really hope that the court tosses out the case against Gutshot with contemptuous abandon.
Thankfully, Gutshot plans to fight this the whole way and, with 11,000 members (not a few of them lawyers), this could be a case of the gaming commission biting off more than it can chew. After all, there has been no complaint from the police, from the neighbours, nor, I would hope, the customers.
Let's face it, the sole purpose of the summons is because the powers that be are petrified that they will lose out on revenue. It's nothing to do with maintaining the social fabric of society. If Gutshot was forced to become a casino, it could be "taxed" at a far higher rate. If Gutshot wins, then more card clubs will spring up, and the gaming commission will lose control of an area of the gaming industry (as well as the revenue from the licences). For a petty bureaucrat, losing a part of what he considers to be "his" empire is akin to cutting off his right arm.
The authorities have really shown themselves to be the pettiest of tosspots here. For once I was going to praise the police for their sensible attitude to something in society. But it appears that even getting the police to realise that something is working (in the words of David Lloyd, it isn't broken, so don't try to fix it) is not enough. There will always be some wanky publice service employee who has nothing better to do than to try to make life for the rest of us miserable.
I really really hope that the court tosses out the case against Gutshot with contemptuous abandon.
