By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter
@Siwri88
The power of
advertising can encourage us to buy a brand new product like a tablet or 3D TV;
push us to a tempting Big Mac or desire the consumer to place a bet and aim for
victory when those hopes can lead us into trouble.
The world of
gambling has always been out there for the human being and there seems to be
more temptations than ever before, thanks to the new technological advances of
apps on phones and devices that drive towards free bets. And once this happens,
an addiction can begin – just as bad as alcohol or smoking can to your lungs.
So, here is
my view on gambling and knowing when to quit.
Blanket bans
When we say
the word gamble, it can mean a whole lot of things. To the naked eye, it could
mean taking a chance on confessing your feelings for someone, or risking it all
for a silly little fling when it can be fun at the time but the ultimate
consequences make it feel all wrong. It could also mean sacrificing a
friendship by saying what you think and risking hurting the other person’s
feelings. Or to the majority, it involves money by spending it, betting on it
and winning or losing on it.
All the
bookmakers of today’s world like Coral, Ladbrokes, William Hill and bet365.com
to name a few will do what they can to get new and returning customers to their
online accounts and betting shops across the UK. The same goes for companies
who operate bingo plays or a costly trip to the casino where living the high
life can lead to massive falls from grace. It all might seem intriguing but it is far too easy to be fooled.
This raises
the question whether tougher regulations should be placed on betting or
entering casinos. Currently the age limit is 18 for these things, although it
is 16 to play the National Lottery. Perhaps raising the age consent to 21 would
be wise? I certainly feel a blanket ban on advertising for gambling websites and betting shops before the 9pm watershed should be considered.
It isn’t
illegal but it can encourage the wrong crowd. With calls from campaigners just
last week for a ban on advertising for junk food to the same time to eliminate
the bigger risks of young kids eating unhealthy snacks and treats, the betting
laws should be looked at. I believe the temptations in today’s world are too
free and too relaxed.
My experiences
I’m not much
of a gambler. Never been a huge risk-taker to the world of gambling/betting so it poses no threats to myself whatsoever. I do have the occasional flutter on
events like the Grand National (slip pictured below) and put the odd £5 wager on a football outcome
with colleagues at work but these are rare examples.
 |
| The Grand National is one event where I will always have a flutter on the big race |
There is a
thrill of winning if it comes off and I do get pleasure if I do win in these
outcomes. When Cardiff City beat Manchester City in a shock Premier League
result in the early weeks of the 2013/14 season, I was delighted. I had a
feeling Cardiff would win – risked a £5 on it with a work colleague who
believed I was talking rubbish and came away with the victory.
It was the
same in January when I decided to play the National Lottery on the night of a
quadruple rollover. I’ve been legal to play the Lottery for almost a decade and
you know the saying from the early adverts when it was launched in 1994 – ‘It
Could Be You.’
It can be if
you play but I’ve never embraced the concept, sticking to playing once a year at most. In January, I put £6 on three Lotto lines and another £4 on
Thunderball and won back £28. Not bad for a rookie with limited experience. In fact
in the Lottery that night, the line I won my money on had three numbers and
they were the first three balls to come out of the draw machine that night! You
can imagine how excited I was that I could be a millionaire – even if it was
for just a millisecond!
Sometimes you
win and sometimes you lose. Last week, I went down to Ladbrokes and placed £10
on a horse to come in the first three of the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Coming into
the final fence, the horse I backed was winning but faded badly in the final
straight to wind up fourth. In these situations, you are disappointed but brush
it off and move on.
The problems
begin if you continue to bet.
When it goes wrong
What is the
harm of an occasional flutter here and there I say? If you don’t try, you don’t
win. It is fine being the extremely cautious type and I normally fit into that
category but it would offer no thrill whatsoever to life. So there is slight
excitement when you decide to throw a £10 on the 3.40 at Newmarket or place your
chips on red 28 at the casino as an example.
When it goes
wrong is when you don’t know when to quit. Once you get into a losing streak, I
can only imagine that it gets very difficult to have an exit strategy. Then the spiral will increase to putting even more risky gambles together and losing
more money. Before you’ve started, thousands of pounds have been lost and not
only does it cause disapproval, it can cause heartache.
People have
been known to gamble everything they love for a ridiculous afternoon down at
the racecourse and for those who do so, I have no symphony. It becomes an
appalling addiction which can cause issues for loved ones and yourself.
Before it
gets too much, make sure to seek help at meetings involving groups or
individual counsellors and with some help, you can make a wrong into a right.
Bad experiences do happen in life and it is part of the learning process but it
is not learning from these errors that lead to bigger holes, both in money
owned and gaps in relationships between friends, family and couples.
Over
Christmas, I purchased a book called ‘How Not To Become A Football Millionaire?’
The former Newcastle United and Leicester City winger Keith Gillespie opened up
about his massive gambling addiction that cost him millions of pounds in his
autobiography. I haven’t got around to starting the book yet but it should be
an intriguing read. For those in doubt when gambling about the consequences, I’d
recommend reading this, even if it is a small segment. The risks are massive
and mainly unnecessary.
Casino crunch
Of course it
isn’t just betting shops and keen bookmakers who want your money. Casinos can
be incredibly rewarding too but also very damaging when it comes to gambling
habits. Last October, my hometown Milton Keynes had a casino takeover the City
Limits complex in Xscape. Aspers Casino – which also has casinos in Newcastle
and Northampton has promised to help troubled gamblers who don’t know when to
quit and provide a new experience to the MK nightlife.
I’m really
uncertain about them moving in. I felt it would bring more trouble in terms of
incidents outside such a busy area, attract the wrong crowd into these
addicting roulette tables and slot machines and felt it wouldn’t do our large
town any good.
Six months on
and my view hasn’t massively changed. I lived in Northampton for three years
during my University degree and never ever got tempted to visit their casino
and it is the same in MK nowadays. If I want a night out, I’d rather go for a
few drinks in a pub with mates from the sixth form days, not throw my cash away
I earn from my full-time job. If I want to place £10 a month of my wage packet,
I’ll chance it on the Lottery once a month rather than go to a casino. I guess there is a
thrill there, especially if you spend £100 and leave with £5,000 as an example
but when the crunch occurs, will that be a one-off or a regular visit? That’s where
the problems can easily start. Just ask Marge Simpson in the episode “$pringfield (or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized
Gambling)" from The Simpsons.
The world of
gambling and betting is a tempting planet and when you win, it is a nice
feeling but when you lose, it can be disappointing in my instance or in some,
the desperation to win your money back leads to a whole catalogue of problems.
Knowing when to quit is important when it comes to this field in our society.
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