Gambling Addiction - Need Help, A Chat - Read This!

[StanSP]

Madness from Bet365. 

Not sure what they thought they'd get out of this. Just make themselves look worse. 

 

 

 

[Ric Flair]

That has made my blood boil. Despicable

[davieG]

Bet365 boss Denise Coates sees pay jump to £221m

Denise Coates
IMAGE SOURCE,BET365/PA MEDIA
The boss of Bet365 was paid around £221m during its last financial year, despite the gambling giant reporting a significant loss.

Denise Coates's salary was £7m higher than the previous year, according to new company accounts.

As founder and joint chief executive of the online gambling firm, Ms Coates will also have received tens of millions of pounds worth of dividends.

Bet365 did not respond to the BBC's request for comment.

Ms Coates's pay bump means that her total salary and dividend payments over the past four years is more than £1bn.

Campaign groups such as the High Pay Centre described the pay package as "neither fair nor proportionate".

"Ultimately, Britain's prosperity depends on how the wealth our economy generates is shared, " said Luke Hildyard, executive director of the High Pay Centre which focuses on pay and responsible business.

"Pouring hundreds of millions of pounds more on top of billionaire fortunes every year isn't a good way to maximise living standards and it over-values the contribution that the super-rich have made."

Ms Coates founded the Bet365 website in a portable building in a Stoke-on-Trent car park more than 20 years ago. It is now the biggest private sector employer in the city.

She is thought to be one of Britain's richest women and among the best-paid executives in the world.

After training as an accountant, Ms Coates helped build the group into one of the biggest online gambling companies from her father's bookmaking business. Her brother is a co-chief executive.

Earning an annual salary that peaked at £421m in 2020, Ms Coates has earnt roughly £1.1bn in just four years.

Many top executives often see the bulk of their earnings made up of share pay-outs. It means that Ms Coates, her brother and father are liable for more tax.

According to the Sunday Times Tax List, the three were said to have paid £460.2m to HM Revenue and Customs off the back of their earnings.

Ms Coates, whose father and brother are also the joint chairmen of Stoke City Football Club, has seen the family bookmakers become a huge empire.

She is often credited as the driving force behind the business, and became managing director of her family's chain of betting shops at the age of 22.

The latest accounts filed on Monday showed that the Bet265 group's revenues topped £3.4bn, up from £2.8bn the year before, helped by a boost in activity from the Fifa World Cup in Qatar.

However, it reported a pre-tax loss of £72.6m loss compared to a £49.8m profit in the previous 12 months.

The group launched operations in the US and Canada which it said led to a "significant increase in costs".

Related Topics

[davieG]

Concern as the gambling industry embraces AI

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68304137

[lcfc old boy]

On 08/01/2024 at 14:26, davieG said:

Bet365 boss Denise Coates sees pay jump to £221m

Denise Coates
IMAGE SOURCE,BET365/PA MEDIA
The boss of Bet365 was paid around £221m during its last financial year, despite the gambling giant reporting a significant loss.

Denise Coates's salary was £7m higher than the previous year, according to new company accounts.

As founder and joint chief executive of the online gambling firm, Ms Coates will also have received tens of millions of pounds worth of dividends.

Bet365 did not respond to the BBC's request for comment.

Ms Coates's pay bump means that her total salary and dividend payments over the past four years is more than £1bn.

Campaign groups such as the High Pay Centre described the pay package as "neither fair nor proportionate".

"Ultimately, Britain's prosperity depends on how the wealth our economy generates is shared, " said Luke Hildyard, executive director of the High Pay Centre which focuses on pay and responsible business.

"Pouring hundreds of millions of pounds more on top of billionaire fortunes every year isn't a good way to maximise living standards and it over-values the contribution that the super-rich have made."

Ms Coates founded the Bet365 website in a portable building in a Stoke-on-Trent car park more than 20 years ago. It is now the biggest private sector employer in the city.

She is thought to be one of Britain's richest women and among the best-paid executives in the world.

After training as an accountant, Ms Coates helped build the group into one of the biggest online gambling companies from her father's bookmaking business. Her brother is a co-chief executive.

Earning an annual salary that peaked at £421m in 2020, Ms Coates has earnt roughly £1.1bn in just four years.

Many top executives often see the bulk of their earnings made up of share pay-outs. It means that Ms Coates, her brother and father are liable for more tax.

According to the Sunday Times Tax List, the three were said to have paid £460.2m to HM Revenue and Customs off the back of their earnings.

Ms Coates, whose father and brother are also the joint chairmen of Stoke City Football Club, has seen the family bookmakers become a huge empire.

She is often credited as the driving force behind the business, and became managing director of her family's chain of betting shops at the age of 22.

The latest accounts filed on Monday showed that the Bet265 group's revenues topped £3.4bn, up from £2.8bn the year before, helped by a boost in activity from the Fifa World Cup in Qatar.

However, it reported a pre-tax loss of £72.6m loss compared to a £49.8m profit in the previous 12 months.

The group launched operations in the US and Canada which it said led to a "significant increase in costs".

Related Topics

bet 365 , the bookmaker who has just closed my account for winning on average £13 a week over a three year period

[Ely fox]

I hate those disgusting bookies adverts where they pretend to “help” gamblers whilst at the same time forget this in the next sentence !! 

[Ely fox]

They really need to be reigned in. 

[Ric Flair]

Just realised I'm 6 years clean (last week) from this hideous parasite. Will never ever let my guard down as I could be back there in a blink of an eye and mine and my families life in ruins again.

 

For anyone else fighting, keep going you can do it. A life free from gambling is paradise compared to what we put ourselves through. 

[davieG]

36 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

Just realised I'm 6 years clean (last week) from this hideous parasite. Will never ever let my guard down as I could be back there in a blink of an eye and mine and my families life in ruins again.

 

For anyone else fighting, keep going you can do it. A life free from gambling is paradise compared to what we put ourselves through. 

Congratulations Ric here's to the next 6 and beyond.

[foxfanazer]

On 02/06/2024 at 21:35, Ric Flair said:

Just realised I'm 6 years clean (last week) from this hideous parasite. Will never ever let my guard down as I could be back there in a blink of an eye and mine and my families life in ruins again.

 

For anyone else fighting, keep going you can do it. A life free from gambling is paradise compared to what we put ourselves through. 

That's brilliant mate. Such a hard addiction to kick. I've calmed down with mine but not sure I'll ever fully stop

[Ric Flair]

On 02/06/2024 at 22:12, davieG said:

Congratulations Ric here's to the next 6 and beyond.

Thanks Davie

[Ric Flair]

45 minutes ago, foxfanazer said:

That's brilliant mate. Such a hard addiction to kick. I've calmed down with mine but not sure I'll ever fully stop

Thanks pal. Long may that continue for you at the very least. 💪

[los dedos]

Well this is interesting 🙄

[nick6666]

I had a GameStop put on myself that runs out soon .. tempting to cancel it ..

 

I've always stamped on my gambling before it become a issue but it isn't easy 

[TJB-fox]

On 27/06/2024 at 12:21, nick6666 said:

I had a GameStop put on myself that runs out soon .. tempting to cancel it ..

 

I've always stamped on my gambling before it become a issue but it isn't easy 

Absolutely renew Gamstop. If you still want to bet you can of course bet in cash, but the physical act of getting the cash, going to bookies/casino etc is more difficult than sitting there on your phone.

[davieG]

Gambling slots online to be limited to £5 per spin

Mitchell Labiak
Business reporter, BBC News
Published
27 November 2024, 00:01 GMT
Updated 32 minutes ago
The amount of money people can place on a single online slots bet will be restricted for the first time as part of a wider government overhaul to tackle gambling addiction.

A £5 per spin limit will apply to all adults aged 25 and over with a £2 per spin limit for 18 to 24-year-olds.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is also set to increase taxes on gambling companies to fund addiction treatment.

It said the measures would allow people to "gamble safely", but the betting industry's main lobby group said the government was "at risk of losing perspective".

Addiction to online gambling slots has surged since the Covid pandemic, according to data from charity GamCare.

Of the 6,697 callers who disclosed a form of gambling to advisers on its National Gambling Helpline in 2023-2024, 45% mentioned problems with online slot games, jumping from 34% in 2020-2021.

Meanwhile, the NHS has said it is treating more people with gambling problems, with its latest figures showing referrals have more than doubled on the same period last year.

Gambling minister Fiona Twycross said the aim of introducing stake limits for online slots was "to protect those at risk, with a particular focus on young adults".

"Gambling harm can ruin people’s finances, relationships, and ultimately lives," Baroness Twycross added.

She said the government would introduce "the first legally mandated" tax on the betting industry to fund gambling addiction treatment.

 

More here

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce3y60wzer6o

[adam1]

Gambling harms levy. Please explain how scratchcards (highly addictive) are exempt because they are National Lottery run. Yet other charities have to pay it......

[John rayner]

On 29/11/2024 at 15:40, adam1 said:

Gambling harms levy. Please explain how scratchcards (highly addictive) are exempt because they are National Lottery run. Yet other charities have to pay it......

I disagree with so many adverts that promote gambling ,they should be stopped imo

[davieG]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3w1gq5e1d2o

 

'I was a rich footballer - and a gambling addict'
Footballer Dean Sturridge, a man with very short dark hair, playing in a football match. He is wearing an old Wolverhampton Wanderers kit - an orange long-sleeved shirt - with "Goodyear" written in black, black shorts with orange stripes and orange shorts with black tops. Other Wolves players are in the shot, as are Sheffield United players. They are wearing shirts with red and white vertical stripes, white shorts and red socks. Sturridge appears to have just kicked the ball, which is near him.
 

Gavin Kermack
BBC News, West Midlands
Kath Stanczyszyn
BBC Radio WM

"When I couldn't play football because of injury, I'd be sat on my settee. I'd have boredom, I'd have time – and I'd have the money. That's when the bets escalated and I was totally out of control," says a former professional footballer.

Dean Sturridge, born in Birmingham, was a successful striker, notably playing in the Premier League for Derby County, Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers, as well as having spells at Sheffield United and Kidderminster Harriers.

But behind the scenes, he was struggling with a serious gambling addiction.

After five and a half years in recovery, Sturridge is using his experience to help others stuck on what he calls the "desert island" of addiction.

 

Sturridge is the newest ambassador for the gambling support charity Gordon Moody, which first brought the Gamblers Anonymous concept from the US to the UK in 1971.

"I know the feeling of being in addiction, being lonely, being isolated, feeling guilt, feeling shame, feeling embarrassment," said Sturridge, now 51. "Everybody's story is unique, but I'm hoping I can inspire just one person."

Sturridge's gambling problem began when he was young but became worse when he was faced with the fame and fortune of becoming a professional footballer. He remains Derby County's record goalscorer in the Premier League.

"My first signing-on fee was a big figure," he explained. "It was supposed to be going down to buy my first car, a Ford Fiesta Firefly.

"I couldn't pay for it because I'd lost my signing-on fee within hours of it going into my account."

Sturridge ended up borrowing money from a team-mate to pay for the car.

"I'd be going from the bookie to the bank... writing cheques out and going into the branch, then withdrawing money.

"By the end of the day you see nil in your account, when at the start of the day it had thousands in it."

Footballer Dean Sturridge is wearing a blue Leicester City football shirt, emblazoned with the Walkers logo, and white shorts. He is smiling and pointing at something off-camera. A large out-of-focus crowd is behind him.
Image source,Getty Images/Allsport

Sturridge, pictured playing for Leicester City, is hoping to use his own experiences as a gambling addict to help others

Sturridge acknowledges his salary allowed him to finance his addiction - but he felt the impact in other areas.

"When I'd be with my children [and my wife], some of the time I'd be on my phone putting a bet on," he remembers. "I wasn't present in the conversations.

"And that's the most disappointing thing for me that I have regrets about. But I'm glad now that I'm in recovery, I'm a better person.

"And I have a great opportunity now with my grandson, who's a year old, that I can show him the new improved Dean."

Things came to a head when Sturridge's wife came home early one day and found him watching horse racing and placing bets. Within 24 hours, he was at a Gamblers Anonymous meeting.

"Walking through those doors, it was the catalyst for me understanding myself.

"As a gambler, I think you shut off [your emotions]; you compartmentalise, and I did that as a sportsman as well.

"I was always pushing my emotions to the side and trying to mask them."

Sturridge now works as a football agent

Now a football agent, Sturridge believes young players are more equipped to deal with the trappings of fame - but stresses that they still need support.

"It's important... for people like myself, for people in organisations like Gordon Moody, to go into schools and into football clubs and just help them on their journey."

 

[Jaspa]

 

 

5hr video but worth abit of a watch.