I shall put my cards on the table: I am opposed to gambling and the false economy which gambling generates locally. As such, if asked for an opinion about the closure of Walthamstow Dogs I would have to say I wished the place had never been built.

But, it was built, and built well, and it became a very important aspect of local culture over the years. It also provided a number of people with jobs, as well as recycling money 'earned' from visitors to the track in a way that the alternative forms of gambling do not - the betting shops in our High Street merely hoovering the locals' cash lost on wagers and the taxes paid on winnings and directing them away from a community which can't afford it.

I fully recognise that I am in the minority in my opposition to gambling. Before those of you who like a flutter switch off to avoid the preaching, I should say this opposition is generally not based on 'moral' grounds. In communities that can afford to throw such disposable income as they have around, I see nothing wrong with gambling as currently organised in the UK being available as a form of entertainment for those who like it. I don't indulge myself, though I have gambled regularly in the past, but this personal prohibition is not for religious reasons or because I just don't understand the odds and can't win: I do know that betting against professionals, be they casinos or bookmakers, is a mug's game in the long term. I avoid it. I have however probably broken even at poker over a past lifetime in 'friendly' games. I would also admit I am well up where informal bets on pugilism are concerned, as a result of having had a heavyweight boxer as a dad. I have made money by knowing what a confident, fit person looks like and from my acute ability to recognize fear.

As I say, I do not gamble now. I have given up for practical reasons. It's not the money, its the affect it has on friendships that gives 'friendly' gambling its downside. My experience is that 'friendly' bets create a risk of ruining the friendships they are supposed to make more interesting and reinforce. The sight of two friends reduced to wacking at each other with pool cues eventually brought home to me the way that gambling ain't as much as a fun enhancer as it is made out to be. I would rather get drunk and have a decent talk with my mates.

But in Walthamstow, mine is possibly not a common approach to betting. This is a place where people will sign petitions and take to the streets to demonstrate their enthusiasm for a flutter. The local High Street has many places where people can wager their funds. And until recently, we had a dog track. It is world famous. It is closed at present. Two local MPs are trying to prevent this closure becoming permanent, working with a consortium hoping to take the place over. It appears however, that those trying to do this have been dealt a difficult hand, as there has been some deception and bluff on the part of the owners of the stadium, and those who wish to develop it into housing. The local council does not have much of a record of playing successfully at the big boys table where property developments are concerned. If they are able or willing to get in the game at this stage, remains to be seen.