AIBU - gambling is truly nasty and pernicious...

it seems so many people on benefits and in need of housing are so due to debts getting out of hand, and gambling often being the cause. Tragic for all involved, and very expensive for the tax payer as you say- and society as a whole, not just financially.

I suspect you're right Nelliem How much does it cost to sort out the lives of addicted gamblers - benefits, therapy, rehousing because they can't pay mortgage etc etc? It seems a tad counterintuitive

I suspect the answer to why the UK government allow such a proliference of gambling venues on and off line is probably this.

www.gov.uk/topic/business-tax/gambling-duties

We have a crisis waiting to happen here.

gj That's interesting about it being UK specific. I'd never realised that there were no gambling shops in Europe - I suppose I've never noticed because it's not something I'd be looking out for!

Is that because they're illegal or simply that they have a different cultural approach to gambling?

Well my aversion to gambling goes a long way. My favourite cousin did 2 years in prison in the early 60s. He worked at the Post Office, and was about to get married. he wanted his bride to have a super wedding- and 'borrowed' a bit of money from the till to gamble on the horses, planning to pu that sum back in the till before it was noticed, and he lost. So 'borrowed' a bit more to pay back and lost again. Before he knew what had hit him- he was down a lot of money and was caught. His fiancée stuck by him, and they had a very simple wedding when he came out of prison, and he never gambled again- but it was so sad, because they were such nice people, and he such a wonderful guy.

Someone in OH's family gambled very badly in the 50s- and even bought part of a horse with a syndicate, which was a disaster- at a time there was no food on the table for the children. Again- a tragedy.

Gambling is worse than drugs in many ways- and i just cannot understand why the GVT in the UK is allowing such a hold on the High Streets and the Internet. I know some of you get really cross with me when I point out that it is a very specific UK problem- but it is. Have you ever seen gambling shops in France or Germany, or Italy- or anywhere else in Europe?

A Uni flatmate of DS's had to leave last year, he had gambled away all his student loan on a football betting online game. He had done it once, thinking to make a bit of money to subsidise his income, and won quite a bit. He became hooked and lost the lot. Very sad.

The worst thing was - this shouldn't make me laugh, but it does - he was doing Business studies!

I loathe the idea of gambling....the advertising of it that normalises it as an innocent fun pastime is beyond me. Its not a hobby or something to do for fun. Buying a raffle ticket at a fundraising event, physically going to play Bingo with a group of friend, a girly day out at the races are different - they are social occasions to be enjoyed. But sitting home alone on the laptop - being made to believe you are somehow part of a community having fun, is a dangerous slippery slope that is fraught with potential dangers.

vegasmags I echo your comments about the TV adverts. There seem to be more and more of them, especially afternoon TV. I often record afternoon programmes and when I whizz through later to avoid the ads, I am still able to quickly glimpse how many gambling ads there are. I'm also rather horrified that there are 'well known celebs' doing the advert - they should be ashamed of themselves (imho)

I think that the growth of online gambling has exacerbated addiction. It can be carried out in private, unknown to family and friends. I am astonished by the number of TV adverts promoting this activity, and wonder if they shouldn't be more strongly regulated.

The situation in the USA is very complicated, because different states take differing views, but it is much harder to gamble online because of credit card regulations which are absent here.

My father-in-law had a serious gambling problem. DH, his mum and his sister always lived in back rooms of other people's houses, never owned a home of their own due to this problem. This was in the 1940s and 50s. DH said it was humiliating.

In recognition of the extensive problem with gambling in the UK, the government introduced a national lottery.

DH's BiL has a gambling problem. MiL had to bail them out on more than one occasion.
It's an addiction in some that can destroy families. I have no answers though.