Responsible gambling (part 1)
I had intended to start by looking at Paul Merson’s advertising campaign for BETTER Bet. A reasonable sized outfit in the Midlands. It certainly looked like a two-faced effort to earn some cash. Remember his gambling problems from a while back? However Better Bet have done the decent thing and pulled the plug themselves. What was he thinking about? Certanly a new twist to "Poacher turned Gamekeeper", if it had been allowed to carry on. Applause for Better Bet.
The irresponsible gambler is a person to be pitied rather than railed against. If you’ve seen him/her in action as I have you would know what I mean. He’s as excited as a five year old at Christmas as he decides where he’s going to put his money. but is it his money to put on? No, usually not. I’ve seen the mortgage money put on a favourite in a 16 horse handicap. Does it get any worse than that?
In days of yore, it was not unusual to hear that so-and-so had lost everything thru’ gambling. I mean Everything. Then the bookies thought nothing of going over the top to recoup what was owing to them. The advent of betting shops brought a more civilized approach. Indeed it was only the credit-worthy who were given the honour of having a Credit Account. So it became "harder" to fall foul of the bookies. Instead it just became easier to "Blow" your wad over the counter. So you still lost your cash but your home stayed intact. Unless of course you went to the bookies instead of the bank when you’d been paid. Sooner or later tho’ came the reckoning. Fortunately this situation is becoming less likely to happen due to initiatives put together by the government and most betting outlets.
Each Bookmaker on the internet has a space on his website, usually called, Responsible Gambling. From here you can get the necessary pointers to show you where help is available.
There are three well advertised sites, Gamblers Anonymous, Gamcare and Gambling Aware. I will look at these in greater length, next time. This time I’d like to draw your attention to a "fledgling". "Want to Stop Gambling" doesn’t bear comparison to the other sites as it’s very much a one-man-band. It was brought about by a combination of Alcohol and Gambling, which almost ended in tragedy. The gambling induced the alcohol. Now where have I heard that before?
The site owner is a Jake Brindell. He tells it like it is (or was). He tells a little about himself and offers advice in the form of a download.
Ultimately he wants to amass a free membership of around 1000 people who will answer a survey. This is seen as the first stepping stone to getting some more worthwhile help from other sources. You don’t need to be in need of help to join the site. The way he sees it, is prevention is better than a cure. The site is an easy read. So why not give it a try. You’ve nothing to lose but you just might leave the site a little wiser, as I did. The site itself is an excellent read. Set aside an evening when tv is rubbish. (Most nights, I think). If nothing else you’ll certainly have a good insight into the problems that can occur, if you’re not careful.
