Journalist Wanted - Gambling Commission Complaint

wealdroam

duckeggblue wrote: »

OP hasnt suggeste banning gambling,as far as I can see?

Then you missed these posts...

michael1983l wrote: »

If I could have it my way gambling would be outlawed, just going into the bookmakers and seeing their regulars will give you the impression that only bad comes of it.

michael1983l wrote: »

Thats why it should not be legal at all, there is no way to protect the vulnerable who need protecting most so in which case it should just be outlawed as it is in many countries accross the world.

Jeff_Bridges_hair

michael1983l wrote: »

No I am not, if that was the case I would be asking for my money back, that I am not. My grievence is that some way part my binge period they could have tried to stop me or insisted that I speak to a proffesional before they continue to serve me any longer.

I wish I had been stopped half way through my binge period as I would be in half as less money trouble and my wedding ring would not be sitting down the pawnbrokers right now.

I dont know where you live but you say that they should have stopped you. Fair enough thats your view on one shop. What would have stopped you from walking to the next shop in your place of residence on the same day and then spending more money there - would that be the shops fault again even though you had been told to stop?


You mention a level that people can bet per day - how do you enforce this throughout the country? Say that level is at £50 but you have 4 bookmakers in the town? Thats £200 spent per day and in big cities the bookmakers are in the tens and in large cities the hundreds and i reckon theres over a thousand so how can you possibly stop someone who is addicted to gambling from visiting all these shops every day when they hit their limit in that one shop? The staff have enough to do without having to ring around to see if Mr Jones has been anywhere else betting today.

Whilst not one post in here has belittled your condition I feel that you are condemning us all for not understanding your condition when you dont know us at all and what we do or do not know. What i do know is that people with addictions will go out their way to fulfil that need be it booze drugs or gambling but it comes back around to seeking help for that problem. And as others have said - it appears that you are blaming your condition on this problem without taking any sort of responsibility for it yourself.

The best thing for you is to continue getting help for your problems and your condition and make sure that you are treated correctly. Then once you come out of your depression and negativity you will be able to deal with the problems and this topic in a far more rational manner then you see it now.

jc808

michael1983l wrote: »

I agree and ultimately we have to decide as the public, is it ok to accept the effect gambling has in a negative way on many peoples lives.

To be fair im pretty indifferent to your weaknesses and the impact it has on you or your families life.
Beyond all your selfishness, you still havent provided a meaningful way for the staff to police 'vulnerable' betters...

European_Citizen

This forum seems to be full of saints! Most of you never made any mistakes and even if they did they pulled themselves together and will, of course, never allow themselves to be in such situation again because they have immense willpower. Good for you!
OP is just looking for somebody to help them raise awareness of why the guidelines are useless because they fail to define "acceptable level of gambling". Maybe many people who have an addiction rely on these guidelines and it would just be beneficial to them to read OP's story. He lost 30K but nevertheless wants to prevent others from making the same mistake. I am amazed at how posts which warn us about bad trade practices concerning Tesco's BYGOF get a lot of 'thanks' while OP's useful post has been met with scorn.
OP: thanks for the courage to share your story! I hope you find a journalist willing to publish it.

Jeff_Bridges_hair

Not one person on this thread has tried to make themselves out to be saints - we all know we all have faults and nuances that make us what we are. Unfortunately some people do not recognise their own faults until it is too late and end up in a situation like the OP has found himself in.


Instead of attacking us on here - how about you tell us what you would consider a reasonable limit for one person to spend in a betting shop in one day and then tell us how you would stop that person from using another betting shop/internet betting shop/telephone account betting shop the very same day?

That's the problem - you cant. As has been said both sides have to show some responsibility for their actions/trading license and i would put it to you that betting shops comply with their responsibilities or else they would not be allowed to trade. The OP on the other hand...

unholyangel

Any kind of debt can destroy lives, i agree on that. But completely different to heroin. I have seen both happen to loved ones. No one can "responsibly" use heroin. Nor have it in moderation. If you take heroin on a regular basis you WILL become an addict. No question of that.

If you gamble on a regular basis, theres no certainty that you will become an addict. "coming off" gambling wont kill you but coming off heroin might. Its an awful awful AWFUL drug. It completely changes the person taking it. Theres a term called "chasing the dragon". People think they can dabble in heroin and walk away. They cant, its a one way street. They take their image of junkies and think that will never happen to them because they have will power, not realising that "junkies" were once like them. Its really hard to explain. But having witnessed a family member go through it, I can say I have the utmost admiration for anyone who manages to come off heroin and even more so for those who manage to stay off it.

As for what you're suggesting, I can see why you're suggesting it. I just cant see how it can realistically be put into practice. Or are you suggesting that before placing a bet, we would need to provide a bank statement to show we arent gambling too much?

While people are free to live their lives, we're also free to ruin them. Freedom has its costs, and this may be one of them. But, in all honesty......I wouldnt want to give up that freedom. If everything was moderated by a "big brother" type system....no one would smoke, no one would drink, we'd be made to exercise daily and eat tasteless food. Wouldnt be allowed to bet/shop etc.

Making bad decisions is what gives us the life experience we need to mature. You learn MUCH more from a bad decision than a good one imo.

michael1983l

Jeff_Bridges_hair wrote: »

Not one person on this thread has tried to make themselves out to be saints - we all know we all have faults and nuances that make us what we are. Unfortunately some people do not recognise their own faults until it is too late and end up in a situation like the OP has found himself in.


Instead of attacking us on here - how about you tell us what you would consider a reasonable limit for one person to spend in a betting shop in one day and then tell us how you would stop that person from using another betting shop/internet betting shop/telephone account betting shop the very same day?

That's the problem - you cant. As has been said both sides have to show some responsibility for their actions/trading license and i would put it to you that betting shops comply with their responsibilities or else they would not be allowed to trade. The OP on the other hand...

There is no way of saying what the limit is but surely there must be a common sense factor. Returning to the merchant with your debit card ready with anxiety on your face to credit £200 to a casino machin that you had just credited £200 to 2 minutes ago at the same time as having alredy credited upwards of £1000 that day.

Does that kind of activity not send alarm bells ringing? Is that acceptable? Well Betfred and William Hill both think this is normal behaviour in their shops and that there is no problem.

I am not saying I am innocent, I am guilty as charged but what the question is here is that should the shop be continuing to serve me at this point? My opinion on that is no not if they want to abide by their regulations, yet they seem to think that they are completly innocent in this matter.

Anyway I seem to be hitting brick walls everywhere on the matter, the newspapers have !!!!!!d out who were going to help and the gambling commission won't even investigate as I have not seen the 3rd party in their complaints procedure. When asking these companies to see IBAS their 3rd party they say it is not relevant for this kind of complaint. So now I have nowhere to complain? What do I do next?

Well my next step will be a desperate one but it is going to involve a set of handcuffs and one of their flagship stores. No food, no sleep, no water. Just a handful of leaflets, my will and the refusal to move until they acknowledge that they need to do more for people like me or a judge gives the police an order to have me removed. A breach of the peace offence is nothing to a man as low as me.

arcon5

What if an obese person walks into a restaurant and orders a very large meal high in calories -- should the staff intervene? Afterall, surely the adverse affects on somebodies health outway a persons financial situation.........

michael1983l

arcon5 wrote: »

What if an obese person walks into a restaurant and orders a very large meal high in calories -- should the staff intervene? Afterall, surely the adverse affects on somebodies health outway a persons financial situation.........

If the fast food company is regulated and the regulators state that they should do so then YES of course.

Why can't people get into their heads that there is a set of legislation involved supporting my grievance with these merchants.

bobajob_1966

michael1983l wrote: »

If the fast food company is regulated and the regulators state that they should do so then YES of course.

Why can't people get into their heads that there is a set of legislation involved supporting my grievance with these merchants.

The legislation requires the bookmakers to take reasonable measures. They do this by allowing clients to set a limit and by advertising and linking to gambling addiction charities.

You still have not stated what more you think they should do.