Gambling Addiction and Me

[trips]

Gambling Addicition and Me. 1 Hour doccumentry on BBC3 tonight at 9 pm. repeated at 1am ,Alexis Conran from Real Hustle meets gambling addicts to try and understand what makes gambling for some. Alex says I met a gambling addict who looked me in eyes and said that he found it easier to give up heroin and crack than to give up gambling. I am sure most of us have watched programmes on this subject but they always seem to be hosted by someone who is not a gambler or has no real understanding of gambling, Alex hopefully will make this very interesting.

[The Saint]

Re: Gambling Addiction and Me I hope the program discusses the subject sensibly - they very rarely do. They are a major reason that, 'gambling' is seen as a mugs game rather than a Leisure pursuit, a profitable sideline or a legitimate way to make a living... Suspect it will focus around fruit machines.... I really do not understand this addiction but my deepest sympathies to those that suffer with it. Wouldn't even spend a pound on these wretched things...

[Jimmy2shoes]

Re: Gambling Addiction and Me Fitz tells it how it is.

[erhaab1965]

Re: Gambling Addiction and Me Anybody got a spare 90 minutes , I recommend watching a film called Owning Mahowny , available to watch on Letmewatchthis. About a gambler who's problems escalates into one of Canada's biggest fraud case's , based on true story. Let me know what you think if you watch it.

[gord]

Re: Gambling Addiction and Me fitz tells the truth

[trips]

Re: Gambling Addiction and Me

I hope the program discusses the subject sensibly - they very rarely do. They are a major reason that, 'gambling' is seen as a mugs game rather than a Leisure pursuit, a profitable sideline or a legitimate way to make a living... Suspect it will focus around fruit machines.... I really do not understand this addiction but my deepest sympathies to those that suffer with it. Wouldn't even spend a pound on these wretched things...

i agree, i have absolutely no interest in Fruit machines,never have done. Best book i ever read on the subject was the Psychology of gambling. this was well over 20 yrs ago so may be out of print but it explained the different types of gamblers and why they do it far better than any book or programme i have seen since. Personally when it comes to gambling i will not bet a penny on something i can't have an opinion on.simple rule but it rules out all the addictive mug ways to loose your money.

[Woodie]

Re: Gambling Addiction and Me

Fitz tells it how it is.

:)

[BillyHills]

Re: Gambling Addiction and Me

Anybody got a spare 90 minutes , I recommend watching a film called Owning Mahowny , available to watch on Letmewatchthis. About a gambler who's problems escalates into one of Canada's biggest fraud case's , based on true story. Let me know what you think if you watch it.

Thanks Erhaab, will check it out, never heard of it before:ok Thanks for heads up Trips too!

[cpo]

Re: Gambling Addiction and Me Cheers Erhaab, I just watched it. I am a big fan of Hoffman... the film was pretty good. I can't believe she put up with him! It would be nice if we all had a Bernie to tell us to take the winnings and leave!

[erhaab1965]

Re: Gambling Addiction and Me Been a gambling addict for over 30 years now and I've suffered a few consequences as a result of it . I can't see myself ever not being a gambler , I love it even though I end up in the mud most of the time. The best thing for me to do is to control myself which I do 90% of the time. Never been into drugs but my primary school friend has been an addict for 15 years and I understand his need for drugs , I'm fortunate my addiction has no health problems associated with it except for stress. My friend has ruined his life and wouldn't introduce anybody to drugs , me i am the same with my problem , i would never introduce anybody to gambling , if I go to the bookies or casino its always with other gamblers , I'd never take a non gambler. This is a reason why I don't post tips . I don't want to influence others to follow my judgement and then see them lose. I will debate about a horses chances or about the event after it has finished but thats only for chit chat purposes. I could write pages and pages but will just say , be truthful to yourself and keep in control.

[The Saint]

Re: Gambling Addiction and Me

Been a gambling addict for over 30 years now and I've suffered a few consequences as a result of it . I can't see myself ever not being a gambler , I love it even though I end up in the mud most of the time. The best thing for me to do is to control myself which I do 90% of the time. Never been into drugs but my primary school friend has been an addict for 15 years and I understand his need for drugs , I'm fortunate my addiction has no health problems associated with it except for stress. My friend has ruined his life and wouldn't introduce anybody to drugs , me i am the same with my problem , i would never introduce anybody to gambling , if I go to the bookies or casino its always with other gamblers , I'd never take a non gambler. This is a reason why I don't post tips . I don't want to influence others to follow my judgement and then see them lose. I will debate about a horses chances or about the event after it has finished but thats only for chit chat purposes. I could write pages and pages but will just say , be truthful to yourself and keep in control.

:clap:clap:clap How incredibly refreshing and honest. I sometimes think you get a hard time on here and you have my absolute respect for continuing to post. Good Luck in the future - I'm no expert despite coming across the problem managing many a bookmaker. Would say more but your honesty is comendable - hope that in no way sounds 'off'. It's not meant to.

[beaker1]

gambling, Addiction and Me: The Real Hustler tonight bbc 3 allready put up in another thread

[fosterbet5]

Re: gambling, Addiction and Me: The Real Hustler tonight bbc 3 cheers for the heads up , will be good to watch

[trips]

Re: Gambling Addiction and Me Expected a lot better from this programme.very sad stories and something should be done about Fruit machines but nothing new on the programme,nothing to say to the addicts to help them or any new ideas to approach the problem.

[erhaab1965]

Re: Gambling Addiction and Me

Expected a lot better from this programme.very sad stories and something should be done about Fruit machines but nothing new on the programme' date='nothing to say to the addicts to help them or any new ideas to approach the problem.[/quote'] Agree . Think it was aimed at non gamblers , it made it easier for them to understand the problems of addicts.

[trips]

Re: Gambling Addiction and Me

Agree . Think it was aimed at non gamblers , it made it easier for them to understand the problems of addicts.

It is hard to find the right balance.protecting addicts from fruit machines without stopping someone who just want's the odd little innocent flutter. one thing they could do is pass laws to make the machines less attractive, cut down on the flashing lights and noise, take away a lot of the excitement, i wonder if there was a serious problem with addiction with the old style 3 cherry machines.no machines exploding as if they have hit the jackpot after even the smallest of wins.

[erhaab1965]

Re: Gambling Addiction and Me Yes there were fruit machine addicts even when one armed bandits were the norm. Reducing the flashing lights / noise isn't going to solve the problem , they will still gamble. The bookies love them machines , it is a major part of their business , infact in some shops I believe FOBT turnover is greater than horseracing !! Without FOBTs some bookie shops cannot survive. All the big firms are peddling these machines like drug dealers. They offer " Free tournaments " , free demos , " Bet £10 get £5 machine credit " etc etc.. All they want is for you to have a taste of their heroin in the hope you get hooked. I don't play these machines but since their introduction only a few years ago I've seen many people ruin their lives on them. Shame on them greedy bookies , they pretend that they care about punters welfare by displaying them Gamcare leaflets when in reality they want you to do your wage pack in them machines more so than their other products. Horses / football / sportsbetting the chance of hitting it big is there however tiny it is but the FOBTs is a certain loser for punters.

[stewartd14]

Re: Gambling Addiction and Me

Yes there were fruit machine addicts even when one armed bandits were the norm. Reducing the flashing lights / noise isn't going to solve the problem , they will still gamble. The bookies love them machines , it is a major part of their business , infact in some shops I believe FOBT turnover is greater than horseracing !! Without FOBTs some bookie shops cannot survive. All the big firms are peddling these machines like drug dealers. They offer " Free tournaments " , free demos , " Bet £10 get £5 machine credit " etc etc.. All they want is for you to have a taste of their heroin in the hope you get hooked. I don't play these machines but since their introduction only a few years ago I've seen many people ruin their lives on them. Shame on them greedy bookies , they pretend that they care about punters welfare by displaying them Gamcare leaflets when in reality they want you to do your wage pack in them machines more so than their other products. Horses / football / sportsbetting the chance of hitting it big is there however tiny it is but the FOBTs is a certain loser for punters.

100% correct. The FOBT's in the bookies are guaranteed to turn people into problem gamblers. The biggest thing is the lack of thinking time. At least in racing if you pick an unlucky loser, you have time to think before chasing those losses. On those machines, it's instinct that takes over resulting in feeding the machine more and more money. On top of that, akin to casino's, the odds are in the machine's favour. Personally think there should be laws against them, but right now there is no arguing with the statistics regarding the returns they provide for bookies.

[trips]

Re: Gambling Addiction and Me

Reducing the flashing lights / noise isn't going to solve the problem , they will still gamble.

yes i agree many will continue to gamble and that may need another approach but maybe and i am certainly no expert on Fruit machine addicts, it may loose the excitement for young people drawn into fruit machines in the future.maybe wont solve the problem for all addicts now but will hopefully reduce future addicts.

[erhaab1965]

Re: Gambling Addiction and Me An increase in addicts is what the bookies want , especially after yesterdays budget where they are expected to lose some of that share to the government. I can see more " free offers/spins " etc by the bookies , its a relatively new demographic they hve tapped into and I can't see them holding back. Not very long ago horse racing was the main product in bookies followed by football , it was probably over 95% male and mostly over 30s ,then they allowed the old fashioned fruit machines which attracted the under 30s which has since evolved into the machines which we see today. They have even tapped into the female and retired market by having them numbers and bingo games , bookies have never had it so good.

[trips]

Re: Gambling Addiction and Me

bookies have never had it so good.

Do you mean Shops or online, deffo online has exploded over the last 10 yrs. ive heard many shops are surviving on Fruit machines. I rarely ever go in a betting shop nowadays but on the odd occasion i drop in to watch a race in town, hardly anybody in, I remember the days when you had to lean over people to try and read the form for the next race:D

[Darran]

Re: Gambling Addiction and Me I have to say I have little sympathy for people who play FOBT's in betting shops. If they want to play a mugs game that is up to them. If it wasnt them though people would go into arcades, or casinos, or online and still gamble if they wont. As they showed though a lot of these people want the thrill of the near miss which I am sure happens a lot on the FOBT's. As for the women who said the staff should stop her, how on earth do the staff know how much money she has to gamble? She could be rich for all they know. If I was running a bookmakers I know Id be wanting to push them because they were certain to make money whereas you cant be certain that will happen with Sports betting. Its not there fault you get mug punters wanting to stuff there money in them. You wouldnt ban pubs just because people drink to much and I am sure plenty play FOBT's just for fun.

[Snert]

Re: Gambling Addiction and Me I think the answer lies in school - Teenagers should be taught about different forms of gambling, ie : don't gamble on anything unless you think you have an advantage otherwise you'll get stuffed.

[ExpectTheUnexpected]

Re: Gambling Addiction and Me If people like Dostoevsky, one of the world's sharpest minds, can fall prey to gambling addiction, it shows just how dangerous it can be and how people shouldn't be embarrassed about it. From a behind the counter perspective, there's nothing worse than watching someone fire notes into the machines and crack up. We're expected to go out and try to talk them out of it if we're concerned but really, given the state that some people get worked up into, I rarely feel comfortable doing so. The whole idea of "confronting" people with a gambling problem isn't the way forward and I'd argue that to help halt the growing trend of problem gambling, we need people to be more aware of their own actions. Credit where due, the machines do try and give you time to rationalise - roulette spins having a cool down period etc. I wonder how much the firms will continue to drive the machines in their promotion work, given the new tax introduced in the budget. That said, imo, machine promos don't actually work. People either do, or do not, play the machines. I'm yet to see a marketing ploy rope them in. I apply a theory of being prepared to lose 5% of my disposable income per month. That's about £15. That covers coupons at the weekend and the odd lucky 15. If I lose that, fair enough. If I make a profit, I cash out. The key is to me is for to not lose more than you can afford to. Edit to add - As my manager once told me - "The only way to beat a machine, is to yank the telephone cable out the back."

[LoveNorthernRacing]

Re: Gambling Addiction and Me

If people like Dostoevsky, one of the world's sharpest minds, can fall prey to gambling addiction, it shows just how dangerous it can be and how people shouldn't be embarrassed about it. From a behind the counter perspective, there's nothing worse than watching someone fire notes into the machines and crack up. We're expected to go out and try to talk them out of it if we're concerned but really, given the state that some people get worked up into, I rarely feel comfortable doing so. The whole idea of "confronting" people with a gambling problem isn't the way forward and I'd argue that to help halt the growing trend of problem gambling, we need people to be more aware of their own actions. Credit where due, the machines do try and give you time to rationalise - roulette spins having a cool down period etc. I wonder how much the firms will continue to drive the machines in their promotion work, given the new tax introduced in the budget. That said, imo, machine promos don't actually work. People either do, or do not, play the machines. I'm yet to see a marketing ploy rope them in. I apply a theory of being prepared to lose 5% of my disposable income per month. That's about £15. That covers coupons at the weekend and the odd lucky 15. If I lose that, fair enough. If I make a profit, I cash out. The key is to me is for to not lose more than you can afford to. Edit to add - As my manager once told me - "The only way to beat a machine, is to yank the telephone cable out the back."

I also have the behind the counter perspective. I agree that while we are expected to approach problem gamblers, quite often these gamblers can be so tense and worked up that I don't feel comfortable approaching them. But it is apart of our job, my approach is when theres not anyone else near them to go over to them ask if they want a cuppa or if they watched the last race (anything really to take them out of their fixation with the machine). Then I'll say something like 'It doesnt look like its your day on that' if they give a somewhat civilised response I'll suggest that they cut their losses for the day or at least go for a little walk for some fresh air. I tend to find that these guys (or women) appreciate your advice and they take it on board. I think theres a fine line on which we walk though, I have heard stories from other employees of customers going off on one when they've been approached with a gamcare leaflet, and I suppose in some ways when you take that approach you're almost implying that you believe they have a problem. It comes down to knowing your customers too an employee I know working in a big town nearby approached a customer a couple of years ago that had been feeding 20's and 50's into roulette nonstop for an hour. The customer ever so polite (and perhaps arrogantly!) told them that hes a premiership footballer and it was peanuts for him! :lol I really don't feel like that programme gave bookies any credit at all. Totally slated the industry from the get go. Bookmakers exist to make money, the same as banks, shops, car salesmen etc all do. So yeah, they do want people betting and playing their machines. But just going by the sheer amount of gamcare/gambling comission related courses that I've been sent on (aswell as every other shop employee from managers to part time cashiers) working for 1 well known highstreet bookmaker (and the others will be the same I'm sure) suggests to me that bookies do invest a lot of money into the prevention of people becoming problem gamblers. An editted reply to your edit: All the modern FOBTs have their own internal random number generating software. No more central servers and being able to hit the buttons on multiple machines at the same time and getting the same number twice on 2 different machines. So not even that will beat them now! I think you really just have to approach them as if they are a bit of fun, not my kind of fun, but if you like that kind of thing you really have to limit yourself and have the discipline to not go bonkers on them.

[Darran]

Re: Gambling Addiction and Me I agree about the promos thing, when I worked for a leading bookmaker they were always pushing the machines and having big tournaments which big prizes to be won. But as you say people will have a free go to try and win the prize but if you dont play them its highly unlikely suddenly going to make you think about playing them all the time with real money. If anything it might make you see how easy it is to lose money in them.