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

[Ric Flair]

1 hour ago, OwnGoal said:

Rick.  Let me make it clear.  I hate the firms. I’m lucky in that my experiences of them showing how they are unfit to hold a licence with their antics is from a totally different side of the fence to you.  I’ve made my living from betting now for nearly twenty years. There’s no trick I’ve not had played on me by the so called big gambling companies. They are vile. That I agree on.  
 

Although I am now successful that wasn’t always the case. For many years I was always losing the lot. Maxing out on credit cards and having overdraft limits being exceeded and owing friends money etc. I was lucky to a large extent that my bad years were pre internet, where come a certain time in the day that was it. 
 

The problem with the white paper on gambling is the people involved know nothing about gambling. Stories like yours will dominate their thinking.  However, they need to differentiate between all the different types of gambling. You mention spins. The crack cocaine of gambling. Fixed odds betting terminals and online casinos, where literally someone can be having numerous bets per minute and mathematically they stand no chance of winning long term. These outlets need to be treated differently to sports betting.  People losing money on horses for instance still get a massive amount of pleasure from their pastime. They live for the sport. 
 

Affordability, the new key word it seems, needs to be realistic.  People should still be able to lose decent money but not tens of thousands of pounds in one night unchecked. Talking about limits of £100 a month is ridiculous. It’s a free country. I know lads who save up all year for a smash at Cheltenham. They bet in tenners max all year. Then go to the festival and are having hundreds on. Win or lose they love the week. 
 

I agree something needs to be done. Firms restricting winners to literally pence bets whilst giving the losers more and more free offers. Sickening. In a world where discrimination is seen as an heinous crime the betting firms are allowed to discriminate all the time. They are scum. I know that, but we also need to be careful not to go to far in trying to solve a problem I don’t think you’ll ever truly solve. 

I mean this just sums up how heinous they are, when faced with people who may actually be in control of making choices that might mean they don't take money from you and they'll close down accounts / restrict bets. 

 

Change will eventually come but whether it's fair, remains to be seen.

[ALC Fox]

[OwnGoal]

1 hour ago, Ric Flair said:

I mean this just sums up how heinous they are, when faced with people who may actually be in control of making choices that might mean they don't take money from you and they'll close down accounts / restrict bets. 

 

Change will eventually come but whether it's fair, remains to be seen.

I’ve long said that their adverts should either say, if you are shown to be unprofitable to us we will ban you.  The other option to this in order to get a license there should be a minimum bet they have to accept from whoever.  I’m one of thousands who are forever using third party accounts in order to get around the stupid restrictions they impose. Yet start playing the casinos and you’ll be given the Royal treatment from them and offered all sorts of bonuses. I’ve had new accounts opened and I have purposely spent a month or two building a mug profile on a new account to make it likely to last longer when the real bets are going to be placed. Playing casino games. Taking poor odds on horses that I know are bigger prices elsewhere.  Betting on obscure late night sports.  All to make the account look ideal to them. Even I was amazed at some of the offers I had. 

[davieG]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64188805

 

The boss of gambling firm Bet365 was paid more than £200m in just one year - making it one of the biggest salaries ever awarded in the UK.

The highest paid director of Bet365 Group, believed to be founder Denise Coates, earned a salary of £213.4m in the year to March 2022.

She also received a large share of the company's payout of £100m in dividends, despite a fall in profits.

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

 

But campaign groups such as the High Pay Centre hit out at the announcement, arguing it served as a reminder that "too much [money] is going to too few people" in the UK economy.

Its spokesman Andrew Speke said: "It shows if the government wanted to provide greater support to those struggling and increase the pay of striking public sector workers facing real wage cuts, increasing tax on high incomes and wealth would be one of the most effective ways of funding this."

 

Ms Coates founded the Bet365 website in a portable cabin in Stoke-on-Trent more than 20 years ago. She is thought to be one of Britain's richest women and among the best-paid bosses in the world.

Having trained as an accountant who later took over a number of her family's betting shops which were sold to Coral, she remains joint chief executive alongside her brother.

According to the latest company accounts published on Friday, Ms Coates received a salary of £213.4m for the year, down 15% from her £250m salary the year before.

As the majority owner of the business, she is also entitled to at least half of the £100m in dividends paid out to shareholders in that time.

But piling money into efforts to expand internationally saw the group's profits dive.

Bet365 made a profit before tax of £49.8m for the year, taking into account a £26.2m loss from its ownership of Stoke City Football Club, much less than the £469m profit seen in 2021.

The group also saw its wage bill go up significantly, with more than 6,000 employees now on the payroll.

In the year to 29 March 2022, the business turned over £2.9bn in total, an increase of 2% compared with the year before.

Its reports also describe how it invested heavily in advertising and IT systems, having previously benefitted from a boom during the pandemic.

Gambling revenues across the group rose by 2% during the year to £2.85bn. While sales from sports betting fell, online games revenues jumped by 25% during the year.

The group also highlighted launches in the Netherlands, Buenos Aires and Colorado in its latest report.

Closer to home, the filings pointed out that charitable donations of about £100m had been made through the Denise Coates Foundation.

The eldest of four children, Ms Coates worked part time for the family firm while still at school, before gaining a first-class degree in econometrics. She later returned to the firm to train as an accountant.

She has previously been described as one of the UK's "most successful women", spotting the opportunity that online platforms presented.

In a rare interview with a local newspaper, Ms Coates once said: "I was convinced early on that gambling would work well on the internet. It is private, accessible and allows you to present a huge range of betting opportunities to customers."

 

[Vacamion]

5 hours ago, davieG said:

Gambling revenues across the group rose by 2% during the year to £2.85bn. While sales from sports betting fell, online games revenues jumped by 25% during the year.

 

They don't care about sports betting decreasing slightly, if gaming revenues go up.

 

The sports betting is a "gateway drug" to the gaming.

 

I have a flutter every week on the football - just results, scores in the prem and a few quid on who will score in City's game.  I bet only a little and I have strict limits.  I only bet on football, and the Grand National.

 

I am utterly bombarded with stuff encouraging me to visit the online casino.

 

Win a few quid on the footy? Advert pops up suggesting you spend it on the roulette or slots.

 

Use a free bet on the Premier?  We have other offers.  In the casino...

 

Nah, aint gonna happen.  

 

I'm all for having an easy and accessible online alternative to going down the bookies and filling out a coupon (yes, I used to do this) but they are taking the piss.

 

 

 

 

Edited 6 January 2023 by Vacamion
Spello

[Guest lcfc80]

I've written a few guides to responsible gambling and how to get help and posted them here so I'll share this one again as it's probably a few pages deep now and not seen https://freebetsuk.uk/responsible-gambling/

 

Also a brilliant tool to help you stop if you need to is https://www.betblocker.org/, the person behind it has been a champion for helping problem gambling for many years and is a very good person. The good thing about this is it also restricts the snide sites that get around the gamstop tool, which I have also spoke about on here, that is some betting sites, mainly casinos, and some snide affiliate marketers targeting problem gamblers who are signed up with gamstop by offering them sites they can use. Those people are the vile end of the sector and are shunned, as they should

[Vacamion]

 

 

 

 

 

[chrishlcfc]

@Lukeslaw Seen you on the news just now. Having been a gambling addict that had a massive effect on my mental health and made me feel so low and still does. I just want to wish you all the success with your petition again and hopefully you manage to bring about some much needed changes in the gambling world. 🤞 

[davieG]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65091257

 

Three gambling firms owned by William Hill are to pay penalties of £19.2m for failing to protect consumers and weak anti-money laundering controls.

The record penalty comes after the Gambling Commission found new customers were able to bet large sums over short periods without proper checks.

In one case, a customer was allowed to open a new account and spend £23,000 in 20 minutes without any checks.

The commission "seriously considered" suspending William Hill's licence.

It found several failures to guard against possible money laundering, with customers allowed to deposit large amounts without the business conducting appropriate checks.

One person was able to spend and lose £70,134 in a month, while another deposited £73,535 and lost £14,068 in four months.

The problems discovered by the Gambling Commission took place between January 2020 and October 2021.

"When we launched this investigation the failings we uncovered were so widespread and alarming serious consideration was given to licence suspension," said Andrew Rhodes, the Gambling Commission's chief executive.

"However, because the operator immediately recognised their failings and worked with us to swiftly implement improvements, we instead opted for the largest enforcement payment in our history."

 

Mr Rhodes told the BBC's Today programme the commission had seen "immediate and significant improvements" under the company's new management.

William Hill was taken over last year by 888 Holdings, an international gambling group that reported profits of $81.3m (£66m) in 2021 with revenues of $980m.

888 said the problems had happened under the previous ownership and management. "After William Hill was acquired, the company quickly addressed the identified issues with the implementation of a rigorous action plan," a spokesperson said.

Among the issues uncovered by the commission:

one person was allowed to open a new account and bet £32,500 over two days without any checks
the group failed to identify customers who were at risk of experiencing gambling related harm. In one instance, a customer lost £14,902 in 70 minutes
the group failed to apply a 24-hour delay between receiving requests for an increase in a credit limit and granting it. One customer was allowed to place a £100,000 bet immediately, even though he had a £70,000 credit limit
customers were able to place large bets without sufficient checks on the source of the funds being carried out
the group failed to ask for source of funds evidence when one customer staked £19,000 in a single bet, and did the same in another case when a punter bet £39,324 and lost £20,360 over 12 days.
"The reason we have the requirements to have controls in place is to stop people being able to spend such large amounts of money so quickly without intervention," Mr Rhodes told the BBC.

"It may be that they can't afford it, it may be that it's a choice they want to make, but we have to have safeguards in place, and William Hill accept that they simply didn't have them at this time."

He said on average 22.5 million people gambled each year, spending less than £300 in total.

"So if somebody is spending an unusual amount then we would expect to see intervention. That is what should have happened here," Mr Rhodes said.

 

Under the settlement with the William Hill Group, WHG (International), which runs williamhill.com, will pay £12.5m, Mr Green, which runs mrgreen.com, will pay £3.7m and William Hill Organization, which runs more than 1,300 betting outlets across Britain, will pay £3m.

The £19.2m collected from the penalties will go towards "socially responsible" good causes.

The previous largest penalty imposed by the Gambling Commission was £17m against Entain last year.

Despite the penalties, Mr Rhodes said there were now "signs of improvement" in gambling operators' behaviour.

"There are indications that the industry is doing more to make gambling safer and reducing the possibility of criminal funds entering their businesses," he said.

"Operators are using algorithms to spot gambling harms or criminal risk more quickly, interacting with consumers sooner, and generally having more effective policies and procedures in place."

 

 

Where to get help on gambling

The NHS addiction support website outlines what help is available.

GamCare operates the National Gambling Helpline, providing information, advice and support for anyone affected by gambling problems - advisers are available 24 hours a day on Freephone 0808 8020 133 or via web chat.

Gamblers Anonymous provides a list of support meetings for problem gamblers in Scotland here and in England, Wales and Northern Ireland here.

Further sources of support can be found on the BBC Action Line page.

[davieG]

Gamblers who are losing £1,000 a day are expected to face checks as part of new, tougher gambling regulations.

Sources say these will kick in when a gambler loses £1,000 in 24 hours, or £2,000 over 90 days. How these will be carried out is as yet unclear.

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer, who will outline the plans in Parliament later, says the rise of smartphones means "now there's a Las Vegas on every phone".

Ms Frazer said her "balanced" proposal would still let people enjoy a flutter.

 

More here - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65249542

[filbertway]

On 27/04/2023 at 09:11, davieG said:

Gamblers who are losing £1,000 a day are expected to face checks as part of new, tougher gambling regulations.

Sources say these will kick in when a gambler loses £1,000 in 24 hours, or £2,000 over 90 days. How these will be carried out is as yet unclear.

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer, who will outline the plans in Parliament later, says the rise of smartphones means "now there's a Las Vegas on every phone".

Ms Frazer said her "balanced" proposal would still let people enjoy a flutter.

 

More here - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65249542

£1000 in 24 hours or £2000 in 3 months  sounds genius and someone who definitely knows what they're talking about.
 

[Wymsey]

It must be hard for those really trying to stop the habit, but see numerous betting/gambling/lottery habits throughout the day on television and even on the radio.

 

Such adverts have very much gone out of control, personally.

Edited 30 April 2023 by Wymsey

[HesNotGudjonsonn2]

I have had a bit of a slot machine problem before. I wasn’t caring about winning so much as I wanted to play the bonus board. It was just a buzz but an expensive one. I then found a site online where I can play these games as demos which include the bonus. They are very realistic in the sense you rarely get the bonus and when you do , it is rarely worth it. I find by playing these it takes away the urge to play real ones as I spend most of the time losing, not getting the bonus but walk away having lost no money. Just a thought for others it may help. 

[SK3Blue]

Self excluded 3 years ago, my gambling peaked during the first lock down, decided enough was enough. 

[Daggers]

Ivan Toney:

Edited 26 May 2023 by Daggers

[Leeds Fox]

On 02/12/2022 at 09:08, OwnGoal said:

Rick.  Let me make it clear.  I hate the firms. I’m lucky in that my experiences of them showing how they are unfit to hold a licence with their antics is from a totally different side of the fence to you.  I’ve made my living from betting now for nearly twenty years. There’s no trick I’ve not had played on me by the so called big gambling companies. They are vile. That I agree on.  
 

Although I am now successful that wasn’t always the case. For many years I was always losing the lot. Maxing out on credit cards and having overdraft limits being exceeded and owing friends money etc. I was lucky to a large extent that my bad years were pre internet, where come a certain time in the day that was it. 
 

The problem with the white paper on gambling is the people involved know nothing about gambling. Stories like yours will dominate their thinking.  However, they need to differentiate between all the different types of gambling. You mention spins. The crack cocaine of gambling. Fixed odds betting terminals and online casinos, where literally someone can be having numerous bets per minute and mathematically they stand no chance of winning long term. These outlets need to be treated differently to sports betting.  People losing money on horses for instance still get a massive amount of pleasure from their pastime. They live for the sport. 
 

Affordability, the new key word it seems, needs to be realistic.  People should still be able to lose decent money but not tens of thousands of pounds in one night unchecked. Talking about limits of £100 a month is ridiculous. It’s a free country. I know lads who save up all year for a smash at Cheltenham. They bet in tenners max all year. Then go to the festival and are having hundreds on. Win or lose they love the week. 
 

I agree something needs to be done. Firms restricting winners to literally pence bets whilst giving the losers more and more free offers. Sickening. In a world where discrimination is seen as an heinous crime the betting firms are allowed to discriminate all the time. They are scum. I know that, but we also need to be careful not to go to far in trying to solve a problem I don’t think you’ll ever truly solve. 

 

A few blokes I drink with gamble to high heaven. The other day, one was £2400 in the hole and had a £1000 on a 5/1 winner. Just like that he was up. If that was me, thats' 3 weeks wages gone. I'd be suicidal, they we're bothered for about a day. The killer is, horses run every 10 minutes. It can spiral. 

 

We went to Vegas and they were over £40k down, last spin, £850 on 0. Came in, still down but it was like he'd won the Lottery. When you're with them you get so drawn into it, I can't really afford £500 a month on the horses but I often do. To some it's just a buzz.

 

Don't get me wrong, I don't blame anyone but myself but if I looked at the end of the month, I could afford another house rather than get sucked in to the horrible game that is gambling. 

 

It's addictive, sometimes even losing is addictive. It causes as much (if not more) heartache than alcoholism and drugs.

[Daggers]

On 30/04/2023 at 21:26, Wymsey said:

It must be hard for those really trying to stop the habit, but see numerous betting/gambling/lottery habits throughout the day on television and even on the radio.

 

Such adverts have very much gone out of control, personally.

Everywhere on Twitter.

[lcfceed]

58.80 dollars per go!

 

[Wymsey]

https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/coroner-decide-whether-suicide-leicester-8502713

 

Hope you're OK, @Lukeslaw, and that your campaign is going strong.

Edited 7 June 2023 by Wymsey

[TJB-fox]

On 06/06/2023 at 15:52, lcfceed said:

58.80 dollars per go!

 

Bit of a weird video to post in this thread, no?

[lcfceed]

5 hours ago, TJB-fox said:

Bit of a weird video to post in this thread, no?

Yes, i see that now. Can't remember what the reason for doing it was. Sorry folks! Shall I delete it?

[Wymsey]

https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/betfair-says-shouldve-done-more-8525758

 

[ramboacdc]

I used to work in bookmakers around 2009 until about 2013. Left after getting my head kicked in by 3 lads on Evington Road. Back in them days the rules were £100 a spin allowed every 30 seconds on the roulette machines and we were told to do what we could to keep these high rollers in. We had cards in the safe with £500 pre loaded credit to give out to help incentivise them to stay. I have seen first hand how much gambling can ruin lives and how companies will just do what they need to do outwardly to look like they are doing something. We all know they ain't.

 

Working in it daily caused me to become addicted to betting and slots. I didn't realise until I left that it was an issue and I was then signing up for loads of sites to get sign up bonus for slot games or free in play bets and such. I was dutching race after race, trying matched betting but had no patience so would then pump the money into "certain" bets that would then fail and spending the change on slots. 

 

I ended up self excluding myself from near on all sites, but having a walking reminder in football for all these new places I know I could sign up to in a heartbeat tempts me to the point I stopped watching Match of The Day to avoid their adverts. It feels like asking Alcoholics Anonymous to meet at Spoons every week in my eyes. I have  a family member dying right now of liver failure due to alcohol. The damage both addictions have are similar in some ways in my eyes. "It's not your fault, it's everyone elses fault." "You aren't addicted, you could stop any point" and all these other lies you tell yourself to justify it just make it worse. 

 

Thanks to everything above I am gamble free and mostly alcohol free too for some time. I know the latter may make people think that makes me a right bore, a stigma I hate but thats for another time. 

 

So yeah...got that off my chest. But if you ever went in the PP on Haymarket or Evington Road or Ladbrokes on Gypsy Lane, we have probably met. Saw Joachim a few times. Lovely guy. 

[Collymore]

I'm not sure where to put this but it's basically some bookies bashing that I nearly forgot. 

 

When we played Sunderland, did anyone else notice Sky cut to a Bet365 advert straight after the remeberance for Vichai that involved a blue helicopter hovering over a stadium which looked almost identical to Vichai's?

 

Literally soft commentators voices reflecting and then the first advert seconds later showing that in some sort of sick timing. 

 

I can't believe it wasn't picked up by someone but probably a reflection of the industry and Sky happy they're lining their pockets. 

[Vacamion]

20 hours ago, Collymore said:

I'm not sure where to put this but it's basically some bookies bashing that I nearly forgot. 

 

When we played Sunderland, did anyone else notice Sky cut to a Bet365 advert straight after the remeberance for Vichai that involved a blue helicopter hovering over a stadium which looked almost identical to Vichai's?

 

Literally soft commentators voices reflecting and then the first advert seconds later showing that in some sort of sick timing. 

 

I can't believe it wasn't picked up by someone but probably a reflection of the industry and Sky happy they're lining their pockets. 

 

 

I did notice this and I thought at the time that it was an eyebrow raiser.

 

It was almost certainly just lack of thought and inclination to maximise revenue, without any thought about when and where the broadcast was.