The controversy surrounding the athlete, Dwain Chambers, has once again raised the question of the place that drug use has or has not got in sport. This subject must be of interest to sports betting because the use of drugs by some sports competitors distorts the information used by punters in gauging the likely outcome of an event.

There are those who say that the subject of drugs in sport is a complicated one, but really it is quite simple. You either permit their use or you don’t. While some commentators and athletes advocate their free use, the predominant position is that drug use should not be allowed. This latter view primarily takes into account the harmful side effects that almost all drugs have on the human body. Why, it is argued, should athletes have to risk damage to their physical well-being in order to compete effectively against those with an irresponsible willingness to jeopardise their health?

If there is a complication it’s in the question of how to deal with those found to have broken the rules. Do you adopt a policy of zero tolerance, as many propose, or should recognition of human fallibility be applied and room given for rehabilitation of offenders?

Clearly there are those who, young and impressionable, fall foul of pressure from unscrupulous coaches or an immature tendency to take short cuts and perhaps sympathy should be extended to them in the form of a second chance. Without this leniency, many future titans of sport might be sidelined before even reaching their prime. On the other hand, as has happened with the Tour de France, a sport can suffer to such a degree under the weight of mass drug use that it loses all credibility amongst competitors, spectators and online betting enthusiasts.

How must a non-drug-using athlete feel to have pushed themselves, for months and years, to the limit on the training ground and having sacrificed many of the normal pleasures of youth to even suspect that the athlete edging past them in the peak contests of their sport, is doing so because they took the easy route of ingesting a performance enhancing drug?

I know where I stand. And I believe most genuine sports betting fans stand with me.