A stupid gamble on evil machines....

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Q: Why is gambling such an acceptable part of life?

A: Because the people who make decisions on our behalf make money from it.

They should ban advertising for a kick off.
Make shops have blank, opaque windows. Make all fruits over 18s only.
 
Once you work out its the casino games are games of chance you cannot win then you will sack it off.
Problem gamblers seem to get their kicks from losing. These machines allow them to lose quickly and then get on with their lives.
 
Used to be nowt sadder than being in the pub and seeing someone on the bandit all night whilst their lass sat beside them being ignored.
These machines are just an extension of that.
Gambling, like most things, is okay in moderation and as a bit of fun. The weekly accumulator with the lads is a good laugh and any winnings go into the kitty for an annual weekend away. I then see people putting up their big winnings on social media on what appear to be crazy bets. What losing bets are they putting on that we don't see?
Not sure what the answer is. Are these machines a symptom rather than the cause? What causes someone to become a problem gambler? Do they have more deep rooted issues that they try and 'resolve' by resorting to gambling?
You could remove these machines overnight and the bookies would find another way of cashing in.
 
They're very dangerous machines. I have the odd fiver in now and again (probably every 2-3 months) but I know lads who put in hundreds at a time. Sat in the pub with the lads, few bets on the football then one or two disappear for an hour or two back over in the bookies. They should be banned or even limited to 1 a shop for starters. Bookies open up shops purely to have 4 of these in cause they're the money maker now.
 
They are trying to get the maximum spin down to £2 from £50. If something like that comes into fruition then William Hill will be closing shops all over the country.

Doubt it will mind as backhanders will be given all over, probably end up £25 max spins
 
Don't believe for a minute the author has been losing £500 per minute in Las Vegas, probably been inspired to write the article after watching Broken.

We've had problem gamblers long before the introduction of AWPs and FOBTs into high street betting shops. She's not provided any evidence or insight that they are making those problems worse - I don't know either way.

Personally, I think the machines are allowed to play too quickly. Spins per minute have been reduced since they were first allowed in shops but they should go further so they at least 'simulate' the experience of casino tables.
 
raindog said:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/aug/19/a-stupid-gamble-on-evil-machines


Obviously just money-sucking machines, designed to sap as much as possible from people with, often, serious addiction issues.

Smash the f***ing lot of them to pieces
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What a cracking post, thanks for taking the time to put that down. Candidate for post of the year in my eyes for truth and relevance
Don't know if you have seen Broken with sean bean (be on BBC I player I expect ) and I won't put spoilers in but it deals graphically with this issue and others
Basically corporate is farming the populous with government sanction. We are just economic units of money transfer, no longer existing for our own sake in their eyes. A nation needs to watch out when it is willing to leave large numbers desperate
 
Skandhaless said:
What a cracking post, thanks for taking the time to put that down. Candidate for post of the year in my eyes for truth and relevance
Don't know if you have seen Broken with sean bean (be on BBC I player I expect ) and I won't put spoilers in but it deals graphically with this issue and others
Basically corporate is farming the populous with government sanction. We are just economic units of money transfer, no longer existing for our own sake in their eyes. A nation needs to watch out when it is willing to leave large numbers desperate
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He didn't write it man
 
RestlessNatives said:
Used to be nowt sadder than being in the pub and seeing someone on the bandit all night whilst their lass sat beside them being ignored.
These machines are just an extension of that.
Gambling, like most things, is okay in moderation and as a bit of fun. The weekly accumulator with the lads is a good laugh and any winnings go into the kitty for an annual weekend away. I then see people putting up their big winnings on social media on what appear to be crazy bets. What losing bets are they putting on that we don't see?
Not sure what the answer is. Are these machines a symptom rather than the cause? What causes someone to become a problem gambler? Do they have more deep rooted issues that they try and 'resolve' by resorting to gambling?
You could remove these machines overnight and the bookies would find another way of cashing in.
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Agreed. As an occasional thing I quite like the machines tbh, iirc the average pay out is about 97% or so, so quite often you'll put a tenner in and walk out with a little bit of a profit and feel like you've won a couple of free pints or whatever. More often you'll lose it, but again if it's only a tenner every so often you don't miss it. I'd say I've done better on those machines overall than I have when I do my rare accumulators.

You can see how easily they could get addictive though, the relatively high % pay out makes people think it's with putting extra in to chase their losses rather than walking away, and they're obviously just so accessible, can hardly walk 20 yards in many city centres without finding one.

It's an interesting one though, should we force bookies to remove them just because some people get addicted to them? I genuinely don't know, on the one hand you don't want people ending up in financial trouble because of them, but then there's the issue of personal responsibility, would these people not just find other ways of losing money, online casinos and the likes?
 
becs said:
Have you seen the price of National Lottery scratch cards? I thought they were £1 each but someone in the kiosk queue before me the other day bought 5 x £10 tickets. Seems mad that you can gamble £50 as easily as that in a supermarket.
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Walking back from the football ground to Morecambe station was quite sad really.
I know you can say people make choices but are some really capable and responsible. Places closed down, back streets full of litter and the most popular places the betting shops full of desperation.
I couldn't help thinking how lucky I am then looking down at my innocent lad realising it's a lottery and he is lucky.
Life is certainly not fair and I for one feel for other people and realise some real sad people out there and it that alone can make feel sorry for others.
 
PhilSAFC said:
Gambling companies are low life scum. Will immediately restrict accounts that win too much but will target losing accounts with offers feeding a persons addiction. Glad I’ve taken thousands from them over the years.
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Aye I always think it's a bit shit that casinos and the likes can just ban you if you win too much. Fair enough if you're cheating like, but banning you just because you're good (at the few games that actually involve any level of skill) whilst happily taking as much as they can off desperate people always seems harsh. Obviously I can understand why they do it, just seems daft "come here, if you're good we'll fuck you off, if you're shit you can stay", thanks, don't think I'll bother
 
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