Time for punters to become political beings and act in unison to fight these harebrained checks

I've always thought of gambling as a solitary pastime and I admire anybody who has ever tried to rally punters into some kind of cohesive body, because I believe it's a thankless task. Which is quite odd because us punters are a distinct breed with a high degree of commonality.

That much has become apparent with the public emergence of the Gambling Commission and its harebrained affordability checks, which it presumably sees as a way of reassuring the government that the issue of problem gambling can be a political vote winner, but which I see as a clear and present danger to my favourite hobby.

In fact, it's more than that. To be brutally and self-interestedly honest, as a punter and also somebody who works in and around the racing industry, I see it as an existential threat to my livelihood, my means of supporting my family and a way of life that I've enjoyed safely and without collateral damage for around 50 years.

Perhaps you see it differently, although I can't really see how. You read the Racing Post, so you're interested in racing; you probably love it, bet on it, perhaps rely on it for employment, certainly for enjoyment. One way or another, the Gambling Commission's schemes will have a detrimental impact on you.

That, of course, is leaving aside the little matter of civil liberties and personal freedom, but even if you couldn't give a flying fig about those fundamental tenets of a civilised society, surely you care about your Saturday afternoon flutter and your annual splurge on the Cheltenham Festival.

All of which is why, if you don't sign the petition which every meaningful figure in racing has been urging you to sign – the one about stopping the implementation of affordability checks – then you'll be letting yourself down.

It needs 100,000 signatures to be considered for a debate in parliament and at the last count was around two-thirds of the way there having gone live on Wednesday evening. When you add the 88,000 people employed in racing – who presumably have at least one friend each – to the colossal number of you who bet on the sport, surely we can get there.

Of course, that's as long as just this once we abandon our solitude and recognise our commonality. I'm sure this is the moment that will show we are political beings as well as just punters.

Punters and the racing industry are being called on to sign a petition calling on the government to stop the implementation of affordability checks. You can sign the petition here.

Read these next:

'It could be catastrophic for the sport' - punters and racing urged to sign petition against affordability checks 

BHA chair welcomes culture secretary's support and promise of 'frictionless' affordability checks 

Lucy Frazer: the government is listening to concerns about the future of British racing 

'Take a minute to sign the petition' - racing unites in opposition to affordability checks 

Affordability checks: sign the petition now 

Sign up to receive On The Nose, our essential daily newsletter, from the Racing Post. Your unmissable morning feed, direct to your email inbox every morning.