I love a flutter. It’s what Moles do best. Sticking a few bob on the nags. But, more recently, I got me gnashers into this poker habit. Me and Ratty used to enjoy a few hands of three-card brag down on the riverbank, but now this is serious stuff.

But blow me, the banks are in on this lark too. I’ve been using my credit card on some of the websites. Now Royal Bank of Scotland and Egg have made some changes to the way they see gambling transactions. In my view, it's purely another way of ripping off the punter, innit?

At the mo, when I use my credit card the bank considers this a purchase, just like buying a pair of gloves, a shovel or a new helmet. That way I was paying a lower rate of interest and no fees were chucked on top.

Under the new rules, the punter using his credit card will be charged 17.9%, up from 14.9%. Staggering, isn’t it? The banks now say that these are “advances”, which reflects the gambling transaction. So if we continue gambling the banks will be creaming off even more of our cash. Who says it’s only the bookies who are the winners when it comes to a flutter?