Gambling sponsorship ban in football

I dislike the Forest Green Chairman and I reckon he's calling for a ban on gambling sponsorship because his club is mostly sponsored by his own firm so would be unaffected.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/57008733

But.... I do think the exposure gambling gets through football is extremely bad for many communities. I'd be interested to know what the new owners' thoughts are on this.

He can be a bit if a supercilious sharp object at times but I don’t think he’s doing this because it won’t affect his club. He’s already stood by his principles in making the club vegan, which was a bold move in a rural area like that.

I intensely dislike the gambling industry (see the Lloyd Griffith documentary for reasons why). As bad as the tobacco industry. The only reason they brought in those limits was because they were forced to and now their adverts make it appear it’s because they’re responsible corporate citizens.

I would hate it if Town were ever sponsored by a gambling company. It ruins lives.

I don’t have strong feelings on a sponsorship ban though. But clubs would soon adjust without them. Just like sport has adjusted to the ban on tobacco advertising. You would never know now that it had ever happened. Fuckem.

When you read that the total value of bets placed with Bet365 last year was half the budget of the NHS you know something is wrong.

Gambling is like a drug. Once hooked it is very hard to give up and soft drugs lead to hard drugs. Small bets lead to high and higher ones and then loans to bet with. It causes similar problems in families to drugs.

Authorities should treat Gambling advertising like they do Smoking adverts and ban them until late at night. As Louth put it 'all value of bets placed with Bet365 last year was half the budget of the NHS' and that was just one company.

Before all this lockdown nonsense I was in my local social club one Sunday and three blokes were talking...they were on about betting, purely on football.

Initially they all predicted from their online history thing that they’d probably started with a hundred or so quid...between them, over a couple of seasons they’d spent well over 10k, pushing 20k. They’d obviously spent winnings and used them to bet again but it’s an obscene amount.

I don’t know if a ban would work or is likely to be introduced but something needs to be done. I don’t gamble and have never gambled, it’s not my thing. I don’t have an issue with folk gambling but as folk have said, it does ruin lives and is as dangerous as say drinking or smoking.

On the very odd occasion town haven’t had a game I’ve been in the pub and seen folk with their phones and betting slips just sat watching that idiot Stelling and then the games after...most of the people watching don’t really know much about football or are that bothered, it’s purely the thrill and chase of the gamble. It’s odd to me but I do think there’s a generation of people who’s football experience is based solely on betting. We’ve got a lad at work, he watches football and is always betting but says he doesn’t actually support anyone...such an alien concept.

Quoted from aldi_01

Before all this lockdown nonsense I was in my local social club one Sunday and three blokes were talking...they were on about betting, purely on football.

Initially they all predicted from their online history thing that they’d probably started with a hundred or so quid...between them, over a couple of seasons they’d spent well over 10k, pushing 20k. They’d obviously spent winnings and used them to bet again but it’s an obscene amount.

I don’t know if a ban would work or is likely to be introduced but something needs to be done. I don’t gamble and have never gambled, it’s not my thing. I don’t have an issue with folk gambling but as folk have said, it does ruin lives and is as dangerous as say drinking or smoking.

On the very odd occasion town haven’t had a game I’ve been in the pub and seen folk with their phones and betting slips just sat watching that idiot Stelling and then the games after...most of the people watching don’t really know much about football or are that bothered, it’s purely the thrill and chase of the gamble. It’s odd to me but I do think there’s a generation of people who’s football experience is based solely on betting. We’ve got a lad at work, he watches football and is always betting but says he doesn’t actually support anyone...such an alien concept.

I see what you’re saying, and it’s my stance too, I just don’t get gambling. For that reason I’m one of those who thinks everyone has choices in life, it’s time people made the right ones and simply didn’t gamble in the first place. I know that’s not a helpful way of looking at it, and it does ruin lives, but nobody is forcing anyone to put bets on.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/a35b72fb-6035-4ccc-90bc-f2a93c4d3671

Scott now does great things talking to youngsters through his work with Sporting Chance
but the effect on not only him, but his mum and dad, have been horrendous

I agree with the sentiments here, but there are people who gamble responsibly, I'm sure Grim Rob is one of them.

Any one who is capable of being sensible can make at least £500 from all the bookie new account offers, without risking a penny, obviously a reasonable starting bank is required. A lot of effort perhaps but risk free.

I get people having a bet on horses or football, it can make it fun to watch. I've had an online account for a while but it can be weeks in between bets and they're small.
My real problem is the fixed odds terminals in bookies and on mobiles. You basically play a computer that's designed to take 10% of everything you put it over time, and the turnover can be huge. I've seen people in bookies getting so angry but they keep feeding notes in at an alarming rate.
I think I'm right in saying Denise Coates the CEO of Betfair has been the highest paid executive in the UK for the last 3 years, averaging £250m a year. It's obscene and they continue to hide behind futile "controls" to "help" people. Not sure what the answer is, but banning advertising would be a start

Of course gambling is a problem however you need to be disciplined, you need to set yourself a strict policy to be successful and to keep it under control, you need to set a limit in which if you win you will withdraw it and stop, and if you loss reach an affordable limit then you need to stop there so you don't lose any more but any more, the hardest part is sticking to the limits as for some there is a temptation to try and win again after a good win or to try and chase back the losses.

Quoted from Heisenberg

I see what you’re saying, and it’s my stance too, I just don’t get gambling. For that reason I’m one of those who thinks everyone has choices in life, it’s time people made the right ones and simply didn’t gamble in the first place. I know that’s not a helpful way of looking at it, and it does ruin lives, but nobody is forcing anyone to put bets on.

What a dinosaur you are. I agree with the sentiment that people should help themselves, but gambling plays on an in built feature of human psychology that hasn't evolved with our modern lives. It starts off as being a couple of quid and can build up, for some people, to losing their entire life savings. The attitude shouldn't be "intercourse them, they're stupid", it should be about how can we help people to gamble sensibly. Much the same as people with drink and drugs issues shouldn't be left to spiral out of control until they're dead or homeless.

That would definitely have a massive impact as it seems that about half the teams in the league are sponsored somehow by a firm linked to gambling.

Quoted from Davec

Of course gambling is a problem however you need to be disciplined, you need to set yourself a strict policy to be successful and to keep it under control, you need to set a limit in which if you win you will withdraw it and stop, and if you loss reach an affordable limit then you need to stop there so you don't lose any more but any more, the hardest part is sticking to the limits as for some there is a temptation to try and win again after a good win or to try and chase back the losses.

isnt as easy as saying it though Dave, been there mate, when your saturday nights were in the bookies till 10pm you have to realise a problem

Those in the shop give you no support, But the help I recieved from a gentleman called David Willis ( local gambling councillor) and GAMcare were first rate

Quoted from Southwark Mariner

I dislike the Forest Green Chairman and I reckon he's calling for a ban on gambling sponsorship because his club is mostly sponsored by his own firm so would be unaffected.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/57008733

But.... I do think the exposure gambling gets through football is extremely bad for many communities. I'd be interested to know what the new owners' thoughts are on this.

Dale Vince is right. Football (and TV) needs to get out of bed with betting companies.

I wouldn’t buy any GTFC shirts if there was a betting company advertised on it through a deal agreed by the club.

If you want an example of the misery betting companies cause listen to the John Hartson episode of Undr the Cosh podcast. He talks very candidly about what gambling did to him. It’s quite tough listening to a “hard man” footballer talking openly about crying uncontrollably and begging his wife not to leave him.

It’s about time an EFL club took a stand and removed all Sky Bet advertising from their shirts and stadium.

Bet365 should be a reason that people don't gamble, there is only one winner, the bookies. £365 Million per year and that's just her not the other 2 owners. so probably close to a Billion pounds A YEAR

Horse Racing, say 10 horses pays 2, so 8 out of those bets lose = millions to the bookies
Football Acca, someone might win, but many many won't
Ladbrokes Revenue 2.9Billion

They make an utter fortune, yes you might win a couple of times that's probably it
Golf  entrants 120, say pays to 8th so not much chance. it's the golfer that wins every time as even 100 all times earnings is $50,000000
It's the same for almost most sports
You have a system?? probably not

BOOKIES WIN HUGE, punters mostly lose overall

Betfair Profit £60M
Paddypower Valued at £9 Billion

It's excellent that GTFC will be taking a stand against gambling companies by removing all Sky Bet adverts from BP.

Quoted from pen penfras

What a dinosaur you are. I agree with the sentiment that people should help themselves, but gambling plays on an in built feature of human psychology that hasn't evolved with our modern lives. It starts off as being a couple of quid and can build up, for some people, to losing their entire life savings. The attitude shouldn't be "intercourse them, they're stupid", it should be about how can we help people to gamble sensibly. Much the same as people with drink and drugs issues shouldn't be left to spiral out of control until they're dead or homeless.

Ok, you call me a dinosaur and I’m not offended. But people who gamble weren’t forced into it. It’s like smokers getting NHS care for lung cancer, seriously, what did they think would happen?

Gambling ruins lives because the betting companies are the only winners. If you consider that as fact, then surely your choice to gamble is the wrong one, with only one long term outcome.

Quoted from Heisenberg

Ok, you call me a dinosaur and I’m not offended. But people who gamble weren’t forced into it. It’s like smokers getting NHS care for lung cancer, seriously, what did they think would happen?

Gambling ruins lives because the betting companies are the only winners. If you consider that as fact, then surely your choice to gamble is the wrong one, with only one long term outcome.

But that's entirely the point. Nobody is being forced to do it, but some people can't stop. It's hard to imagine being addicted to something if you aren't. But think about watching football and how almost every other advert is a gambling advert showing how great the odds are and how much you can win. Then think of the impressionable teenagers that are watching this, thinking "ooh, I'll have a go". They put a couple of quid on and win £5, that triggers a reward system in your brain and you want to do it again, but next time it's not as good and needs to be a bigger amount. You keep going bigger and bigger until you're chasing a big win to recover losing an amount of money that you can't afford. Then also think that every time you watch football and you're in this situation, that you're reminded about gambling and it sets off that desire to win or reminds you that you need to recover those losses.

Alternatively, think about if no kids see gambling adverts, the main advert for it they see is going into a bookies where some old guys that stink of fags and booze are, that look homeless. Doesn't seem so glamourous to want to be like those people.

Since tobacco adverts have been banned, the number of smokers has dropped by a huge amount.

Self help is a wonderful philosophy, but it doesn't work when addiction is involved. And nobody starts off smoking, drinking, drugs or gambling intending to be an addict. That's a built in deficiency in the human race that exists to help us survive, but in the modern world is exploited for the gain of amoral capitalist vultures.

I don't gamble, but I think there is a difference between paid advertising and sponsorship. Liverpool for examle are heavily sponsored by a betting company (Bet Victor?) and Klopp has appeared in their adverts. Jose Mourhino appears in TV adverts for a gambling company as well (Hills?).

Personally, I don't think clubs should be sponsored by Betting companies as it runs the risk of developing into a Calciopoli where matches were fixed at the behest of gambling syndicates.

I CERTAINLY don't think that ANY employee of a football club should be appearing in a gambling sponsors advertising. That is exploiting younger people by exposing them to their role models promoting gambling.

Gambling is a poisonous and nasty thing once it gets in the hands of the parasites that want to take your money from you.
The know your limit campaign is just lip service if you want to gamble, you’ll gamble.
Interestingly where I lived in the USA in both N and S Carolina, they are states where gambling is prohibited. Made things better for it. I couldn’t even access U.K. sites without a VPN. It can be done if there’s a desire to stop it. I mean they still shoot people there, but that’s not the point.

Another reason is the vile abuse given out online, because their club, player, choice, lost. Disgusting

I can get behind a sponsorship ban to some degree but suggestions of banning gambling alltogether is madness.

Just because some people lose it all you're going to punish the other millions of responsible gamblers? There needs to be more done to limit the loses of people and stop people putting their life savings into gambling.

On the flip side there are people who make money at the bookies expense, lots of people for that matter. It's got harder and harder due to the bookies limiting/closing accounts of people who win but I'd like to see that addressed too!

Okay, so here goes... I work for a gambling company.

I've read the horror stories, I've seen them on TV and my heart goes out to anyone who has suffered from gambling related harm, or knows someone who has. It's awful.

Reform is happening. The Gambling Act (agreed in 2005) is out of date, as it was enforced when people weren't able to bet on their phones. It's being reviewed this year and I believe it's going to enforce far more restrictions on gambling companies.

I can see how gambling is deeply embedded in football, and how a dependency has grown between the two. How you uncouple that is a huge challenge. But I agree, things need to change.

However — and I appreciate people's strength of feelings on this — the vast majority of people bet for the enjoyment of it, and the vast majority do play within their limits. More should (and can) be done to protect those vulnerable, and I've seen first hand the data models being used to identify and help these people.

Betting is a pastime, we've been doing it for centuries. There will always be a demand. We need to make sure we don't stop a person's free choice to bet, but when they do, bookies need to be tightly regulated so no one is harmed.

I know people whose lives have been ruined by alcohol, and yet this has a totally different perception. People are quite happy to endorse alcohol brands, wear their merchandise and drink around kids, and this is a drug that has the potential to be destructive. More work needs to be done here, too.

But you won't separate drinking from football. Like everything in life, there is a balance. Achieving it is the hardest part but to get back to the original point, betting and football needs (and is getting) better regulation.

Even though I work in the betting industry, I have no issue with Dale Vince's stance. I agree with it. It's not to the detriment of my company; it's to the benefit of people. I'd rather help my company adjust and find better ways to help people enjoy betting safely than stick a logo on a shirt or on a board at a football ground.

Quoted from Heisenberg

Ok, you call me a dinosaur and I’m not offended. But people who gamble weren’t forced into it. It’s like smokers getting NHS care for lung cancer, seriously, what did they think would happen?

Gambling ruins lives because the betting companies are the only winners. If you consider that as fact, then surely your choice to gamble is the wrong one, with only one long term outcome.

Yeah, but cigarette companies can't advertise anymore, have to be sold in plain packaging and feature very graphic warnings about the damage they do to your health. They are taxed extensively to mitigate the cost of smoking related illness to the NHS.

A decent and reputable pub or shop will not serve someone when they attempt to buy alcohol when noticeably drunk.

What do gambling companies do? I am constantly bombarded by emails from online gambling companies I've used over the years. The app I use now for my £5 Saturday football bet (and that's not every week) keeps encouraging me to bet £25 a week to get a free bet. They all advertise on TV (especially around football matches) and give the impression that betting is part of the game and is normal and even cool. It isn't.

If you have a gambling addiction how do you escape from them? It's everywhere.

I am lucky and I don't have an addictive personality. I probably spend £5 maybe 25 weeks out of 40 during the football season. Quite a few weeks are funded by previous small wins. And I've had a couple of decent wins (£250-300) that have seen a year or 2 of betting expenditure covered in one go.

The solution is simple. Ban them from advertising on Football shirts, TV, Radio (TalkSport would lose 50% of their content overnight), billboards, advertising hoardings and bus stops. The world's oldest football competition (EFL) having their name along side a betting company is an absolute disgrace.

Quoted from RichMariner

Okay, so here goes... I work for a gambling company.

I've read the horror stories, I've seen them on TV and my heart goes out to anyone who has suffered from gambling related harm, or knows someone who has. It's awful.

Reform is happening. The Gambling Act (agreed in 2005) is out of date, as it was enforced when people weren't able to bet on their phones. It's being reviewed this year and I believe it's going to enforce far more restrictions on gambling companies.

I can see how gambling is deeply embedded in football, and how a dependency has grown between the two. How you uncouple that is a huge challenge. But I agree, things need to change.

However — and I appreciate people's strength of feelings on this — the vast majority of people bet for the enjoyment of it, and the vast majority do play within their limits. More should (and can) be done to protect those vulnerable, and I've seen first hand the data models being used to identify and help these people.

Betting is a pastime, we've been doing it for centuries. There will always be a demand. We need to make sure we don't stop a person's free choice to bet, but when they do, bookies need to be tightly regulated so no one is harmed.

I know people whose lives have been ruined by alcohol, and yet this has a totally different perception. People are quite happy to endorse alcohol brands, wear their merchandise and drink around kids, and this is a drug that has the potential to be destructive. More work needs to be done here, too.

But you won't separate drinking from football. Like everything in life, there is a balance. Achieving it is the hardest part but to get back to the original point, betting and football needs (and is getting) better regulation.

Even though I work in the betting industry, I have no issue with Dale Vince's stance. I agree with it. It's not to the detriment of my company; it's to the benefit of people. I'd rather help my company adjust and find better ways to help people enjoy betting safely than stick a logo on a shirt or on a board at a football ground.

Yes, but historically you could only bet in a betting shop or at a racecourse/dog track etc...

If you're a recovering alcoholic or drug addict you won't have alcohol/drugs in your house/flat. If you wake up and are tempted you have the process of getting dressed and going somewhere to buy some booze/drugs to stop yourself from relapsing.

If you're addicted to gambling you can wake up in the morning and be online and gambling within seconds. The industry does nothing to help.

Bet365 took bets in 2019 to the value of the 50% of the entire budget of the NHS. And that's just one company albeit the market leader.

100% Agree with Vince on his stand, like or loath him you cant critisise for standing behind his beliefs and principles.

Rich Mariner says betting is a pass time. To me, it was a pass time when there were small bookies, who layed bets off to larger ones when the risk was too much. This like the old pubs use to be when someone had too much they had to go home, off licences was the other outlet for booze. Again off licences were small concerns and often an add on to the pub; meaning that if the pub landlord refused drink so did the off licence.

Then big betting concerns gradually took over the smaller shops until you have today's situation that the small bookie no longer exists. Likewise, the off licence's have nearly all gone in favour of big brother supermarkets.

Add betaware or drinkaware to their logo and it makes excessive consumption right. Legally they have done nothing wrong and morally they don't care. They may say they do care, as in lip service, but as long as the profits roll in they are not really bothered.

So what was a pass time of a bet and a pint has now been turned around into 'how much can we get out of them'. If you want proof, when was the last time somebody was refused a drink in a pub and refused to put a bet on because they had spent too much?

Quoted from GollyGTFC

Yes, but historically you could only bet in a betting shop or at a racecourse/dog track etc...

If you're a recovering alcoholic or drug addict you won't have alcohol/drugs in your house/flat. If you wake up and are tempted you have the process of getting dressed and going somewhere to buy some booze/drugs to stop yourself from relapsing.

If you're addicted to gambling you can wake up in the morning and be online and gambling within seconds. The industry does nothing to help.

Bet365 took bets in 2019 to the value of the 50% of the entire budget of the NHS. And that's just one company albeit the market leader.

I take your points completely.

By historically, I meant Peaky Blinders style. Without bookies, you'll still have people betting with each other, and none of that is regulated in any way, and it ends up with debt collectors and threats of violence and chaos, and the role of a modern bookie *should* be to make sure betting never descends like that, and that people are protected. Totally agree they need to do more. Totally.

Alcohol is a separate thing and maybe I shouldn't have mentioned it. I only did because the figures of alcohol dependency, deaths, hospitalisations, domestic abuse cases (not forgetting their links to obesity) are still incredibly high. And yet our attitude towards it is almost opposite to gambling. Most of us actively endorse it — and that's not wrong, because we enjoy it (just like people enjoy betting).

But I'm going off topic.

If you're a recovering gambling addict, you can block all access (and marketing comms) from bookies here at GamStop: [url]https://www.gamstop.co.uk[/url]

It's not perfect. I know it isn't. Every bookie should be part of GamStop. Maybe the new regulations will enforce that. That way, you can have a phone and not be able to access any betting site.

The Bet365 figure is shocking, but not surprising, and I understand that reaction. There are far more businesses out there talking bigger figures and not paying their taxes, denying our country the money it needs to fund the NHS further. Where does the discussion stop?

But yes, gambling shouldn't be so prevalent in football. By all means, let people bet on sport if they choose, protect them if they're not eligible or choose not to, don't ram it down their throats, and apply these sensibilities across other 'addictive' industries too. I'm all for it, and I want to work to make things better.

It's not about people gambling responsibly.

A lot of betting adverts prey on the vulnerable.

I've never had problems gambling myself as i hardly partake in it.

However, a friend of mine had gambling issues and he would often self-exlude himself from them, yet he'd still get text messgaes, emails and letters....

Most betting companies do not care about people like this.

You just have to look at the suicide rate for people with gambling issues.

Most people feel they cannot escape betting due to the mass amount of adverts.

Last year I got in my car turned the radio on and there was this geezer getting interviewed about lower league football finance, the EFL, player power, club ownership etc.. I listened and he made a lot of sense and it took me a good ten minutes to realise who it was and it was Dale Vince.

Though I don't like the vegan only bit or particularly FGR as a club I do think sustainability in any organisation is really important and to be honest I do have a bit of respect for Vince for standing true to his principles though they don't align with mine.

As for advertising of gambling? should be put in the same bracket as advertising of smoking in my view. If people want to do it fine but I'm not sure it should be glorified as part of a sporting experience like the media companies tend to portray it.    

Quoted from GollyGTFC

Yes, but historically you could only bet in a betting shop or at a racecourse/dog track etc...

If you're a recovering alcoholic or drug addict you won't have alcohol/drugs in your house/flat. If you wake up and are tempted you have the process of getting dressed and going somewhere to buy some booze/drugs to stop yourself from relapsing.

If you're addicted to gambling you can wake up in the morning and be online and gambling within seconds. The industry does nothing to help.

Bet365 took bets in 2019 to the value of the 50% of the entire budget of the NHS. And that's just one company albeit the market leader.

If you're an addict you wake up needing a fix.  Be that gambling, booze, heroin...having to go through a process to achieve that fix isn't an issue in the slightest.

Don't get me wrong, the accessibility and the ease of betting sites is a concern.  But if someone wants a bet and they can't do it online, they'll find a way to have that bet regardless.

Denise Coates, the Founder and Joint CEO of online gambling business Bet365 earned a total of  £469 million in the year ending 29 March.

Those that think they can make a killing gambling might want to think about that!

Quoted from diehardmariner

If you're an addict you wake up needing a fix.  Be that gambling, booze, heroin...having to go through a process to achieve that fix isn't an issue in the slightest.

Don't get me wrong, the accessibility and the ease of betting sites is a concern.  But if someone wants a bet and they can't do it online, they'll find a way to have that bet regardless.

The point is you cannot get those other things so easily because they are physical objects. Gambling on line takes seconds. You don’t have to get out of your bed.

Someone else made the point about gambling adverts normalising gambling. They absolutely do. A bunch of happy go lucky, young attractive guys have fun placing bets. You know the scene.

There are some even encouraging you to go with your gut instinct and ignore the odds. Shameless.

I agree with you on alcohol too. Even though it’s my ‘vice’.

Quoted from RonMariner

Denise Coates, the Founder and Joint CEO of online gambling business Bet365 earned a total of  £469 million in the year ending 29 March.

Those that think they can make a killing gambling might want to think about that!

As my dad used to say about going to the bookies there's 2 windows for paying in and 1 for paying out, that tells you everything you need to know.

Quoted from HertsGTFC

As my dad used to say about going to the bookies there's 2 windows for paying in and 1 for paying out, that tells you everything you need to know.

Sounds like something my old man would say.

Did yours have the one about keeping your nose clean but if you can’t keep it clean, you may as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb? 😀

Quoted from cannylad68

I agree with the sentiments here, but there are people who gamble responsibly, I'm sure Grim Rob is one of them.

Any one who is capable of being sensible can make at least £500 from all the bookie new account offers, without risking a penny, obviously a reasonable starting bank is required. A lot of effort perhaps but risk free.

The vast majority of people treat gambling as a bit of fun. Most people are pretty hopeless at it as well, they bet on the things the bookies steer you towards. I have hardly bet in the last year compared to years gone by, it's hard work to make money and your accounts get closed down or restricted by a lot of firms if you do.  I never treated it as fun but I did make money on average.

Obviously, some people do have a problem. I think the TV adverts and stadium banners are more of a lure, not least because they are the things the bookies want you to bet on, the markets where they have the largest profit margin. You never see them advertising the likes of Asian Handicaps for the simple reason that they have very small margins on markets like that. The likes of First Goalscorer and Correct Score are mugs' markets, you will always lose on them in the long term, that's what they want you to bet on.

One of the issues with gambling and the spread of it is there arent many people shouting about how much they lose , you only ever hear people boasting about what they have won...by my reckoning all the bookmakers must all be broke as it seems no one ever loses.

Quoted from Les Brechin

That would definitely have a massive impact as it seems that about half the teams in the league are sponsored somehow by a firm linked to gambling.

Half ? i bet it isnt that many Les  

Rather ironic that, at the minute, there is an ad for Ladbrokes between replies 36 and 37,

Quoted from DB

Rather ironic that, at the minute, there is an ad for Ladbrokes between replies 36 and 37,

For you maybe.

I’m still stuck on adverts for Muslim singles

I don't have a problem with people betting on the outcome of games, but to feed the addicts the betting companies have had to introduce new ways of feeding their habits and increase their profits. Betting on things like the number of corners, yellow and red cards, and all the trivial stuff like that, is just a cynical way of feeding the habit to make more money.

Keep betting at the basic levels of winners, draws and losers, but stop all this nonsense of betting on trivial things like how many shots on target there will be in the next ten minutes etc.

Quoted from moosey_club

Half ? i bet it isnt that many Les  

Premier League - 10/20 (8 front of shirt & 2 sleeve sponsors)
Championship - 12/24
League One - 0/24
League Two - 0/24

EFL numbers are only front of shirt sponsors. I have no idea how many back of shirt or shorts sponsors are gambling firms.

Obviously all 72 EFL clubs have 2 Sky Bet sleeve badges as well.

17 PL clubs have official gambling partners.

The endless adverts and sponsorship just aim to normalise betting as a bit of fun. It can be that, some people can also work out how to make a bit out of it a la Rob. However there are still large numbers of people for whom it is a problem. I’m one of them, it copulated me up. Took me til I was in my 40s to realise that and now I still see the repercussions even though I no longer gamble.
For people who it is a problem to, it’s awful and for them it needs heavy regulation, something successive govts have failed to do because, well we know because....💷💷💷

Quoted from Theimperialcoroner

The endless adverts and sponsorship just aim to normalise betting as a bit of fun. It can be that, some people can also work out how to make a bit out of it a la Rob. However there are still large numbers of people for whom it is a problem. I’m one of them, it copulated me up. Took me til I was in my 40s to realise that and now I still see the repercussions even though I no longer gamble.
For people who it is a problem to, it’s awful and for them it needs heavy regulation, something successive govts have failed to do because, well we know because....💷💷💷

Good and honest post.

I've already had conversations about gambling with my 11 year old son because it's everywhere if you follow football. The basic message I try and get over is it's not a part of normal every day life and it causes a lot of pain to a lot of people. I gamble about £5 a week on football but I don't play the National Lottery so that's my entire outlay.

I actually felt guilty this morning because I had £9 in my account & as it's the last game of the season I put all £9 on Grimsby to win & both teams to score.

But that will be my last bet until August when I usually have a 5-fold down to 3-folds on the champions of the top 5 divisions. This season's bet was a disaster. Grimsby have been relegated. Derby might get relegated. Liverpool have been awful. Sunderland likewise. And Halifax have done okay but were never in the title race.

Even the national lottery is in on the act of portraying that good comes from gambling as per their 'good cause' promotion. Millions spent on the National Opera house in renovations! I have nothing against opera, in fact, I like some of the music. When you consider the homeless, starving, and people living in squaller; the need to refurbish the Grenfell and other flats with cladding puts the National Opera project and others into perspective.

The reality is that the lottery makes people buy into it as a feel-good factor. There is some good work they do but also a lot of money is spent on needless projects at this time. I am not saying what the money spent is not needed but there are many basic home requirements that need fixing first.

As was posted earlier 'value of bets placed with Bet365 last year was half the budget of the NHS'; you have to wonder how much money is taken out of the economy by gambling. Money that could be well spent on the poor and needy, money on the NHS, and many others causes that help our society.

I fear that neither party in government will do anything, because it's an easy tax for them to collect. There are not many people who can resist £2 on the lottery to win £14 million, but forget the odds are 14million - 1. Likewise, the betting companies daggle fantastic returns for few pounds, and when you lose you can always try again. My mother used to say about the horses 'you have one horse running for you, the bookie has all the rest running for him'.

Quoted from Theimperialcoroner

Gambling is a poisonous and nasty thing once it gets in the hands of the parasites that want to take your money from you.
The know your limit campaign is just lip service if you want to gamble, you’ll gamble.
Interestingly where I lived in the USA in both N and S Carolina, they are states where gambling is prohibited. Made things better for it. I couldn’t even access U.K. sites without a VPN. It can be done if there’s a desire to stop it. I mean they still shoot people there, but that’s not the point.

Strange place The U.S.A.. The land of the free but in many states the basic freedom to have a bet is forbidden.

Quoted from DB

Gambling is like a drug. Once hooked it is very hard to give up and soft drugs lead to hard drugs. Small bets lead to high and higher ones and then loans to bet with. It causes similar problems in families to drugs.

Authorities should treat Gambling advertising like they do Smoking adverts and ban them until late at night. As Louth put it 'all value of bets placed with Bet365 last year was half the budget of the NHS' and that was just one company.

And hundreds of millions of Pounds were paid in tax by the Coates family. Bet 365 is not a company I like but I applaud them for their success and the many jobs they've created.

Quoted from GollyGTFC

Premier League - 10/20 (8 front of shirt & 2 sleeve sponsors)
Championship - 12/24
League One - 0/24
League Two - 0/24

EFL numbers are only front of shirt sponsors. I have no idea how many back of shirt or shorts sponsors are gambling firms.

Obviously all 72 EFL clubs have 2 Sky Bet sleeve badges as well.

17 PL clubs have official gambling partners.

Whoooshhh