Gambling
Confessions of a political gambler
What could be more exquisite than the life of the professional gambler? I began my career in 2016 with a…
Portrait of the week: gambling politicians, gender rows and a free Julian Assange
Home The Conservative party withdrew its support from two parliamentary candidates, Craig Williams (who was parliamentary private secretary to the…
Our nanny state holds back Britain’s young
Clever people often believe that their cleverness gives them the right to control other people. Nowhere is this more manifest than…
Was Deliveroo the most embarrassing flop in City history?
The market emphatically endorsed my negative opinion of the Deliveroo share offer, which bombed from its offer price of 390p…
The coup that nearly cost the bookies £10 million
Since coup conspirators nearly won £10 million from the bookies, the sport has divided into two camps. Some grinned and…
Letters: How to repair the Church of England
Save on bishops Sir: The Church of England is once again missing the point if its financial crisis will result…
In defence of gambling
Doing good doesn’t always work out as expected. A regular entering his local pub takes pity on an old lady…
Born out of suffering: the inspiration of Dostoevsky’s great novels
A death sentence, prison in Siberia, and chronic epilepsy. The death of his young children, a gambling addiction, and possible…
How I won €160 by mistake
My French friend André speaks perfect English and is the kindest of men. After reading last week about my futile…
French gambling is a mystery to me
Feeling oddly confident, clairvoyant even, I entered a bar to place a bet on Sunday’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.…
Now get off your sofa to help save the arts
Along, cold weekend brought a haul of business news more bad than good. The worst was from aero-engine maker Rolls-Royce,…
The saviours of racing
I was once at a racing dinner in York where a distinguished clergyman in attendance was invited to say grace.…
The dark world of Victorian horse racing
Two hours after showing her father, the Marquess of Anglesey, the wedding dress in which she was to marry the…
Excessive gambling is dangerous – a flutter on the horses is not
Sorry is allegedly the hardest word to say — so Carolyn Harris, chair of the all-party parliamentary group studying gambling-related…
While some bookies behave admirably, the BetBright debacle is a disgrace
Encountering a generous-hearted bookmaker is normally as rare an occurrence as finding a picture of the Duchess of Sussex without…
How do you solve a problem like fixed odds betting terminals?
You can tell by the tone of the jokes how most occupations are regarded and we’ve all heard the traditional…
If this is Aaron Sorkin’s riposte to those who criticise his portrayal of women, God help us
Molly’s Game marks the directorial debut of Hollywood’s most celebrated screenwriter, Aaron Sorkin, and is based on his adaptation of…
The founding father of bookmaking
Imagine Ryan Moore getting caught on the line by a rival’s late spurt at the end of a Newmarket race…
Unearthly powers
This delightfully good-humoured novel is the sort of genre scramble that doesn’t often work: there’s a bit of 1990s family…
The turf
Racing is an expensive sport to stage. Courses and grandstands have to be maintained, health and safety regulations have to…
Virtual reality versus real reality: wisdom (and motorcycle maintenance) from Matthew Crawford
Bit of Kant, bit of Kierkegaard, bit of motorcycle maintenance. That’s one take on The World Beyond Your Head, Matthew…
The missed New Year opportunities I would have rowed the Atlantic for
Gstaad The very end of 2014 laid an egg, and an expensive one at that. I missed David Tang’s bash…
Are the Qataris ready for the curse of Canary Wharf?
I’ve written before of a ‘curse of Qatar’ that might explain misfortunes attending the Gulf state’s UK investments, of which…
Why I’m glad there’s no British Las Vegas
I didn’t realise that the Rialto Bridge has a moving walkway and muzak, that the gondolas beneath it float on…
A casino clash worthy of James Bond reaches its climax in the High Court
A casino drama worthy of a Bond film arrives in the High Court
