In most betting shops you will see three windows marked ‘Bet Here’ and only one window with the legend ‘Pay Out’. Jeffrey Bernard
Gambling isn’t exactly a recent phenomenon although certain advances like Bitcoin Casinos At EasyMobileCasino are. The origin of gambling goes back 2000 years ago, back to the Chinese playing keno, an early form of lottery. The widespread popularity of the game allegedly helped to pay for the Great Wall of China, get more info on that here if you are so inclined. Cheating at gambling isn’t new either; multiple trick coins have been found amongst ancient Roman artefacts.
But the gambling dens of ancient Greece had a shameful reputation linked to drunkenness, debauchery and violence, suggesting that gambling addiction and problem gambling were as much an issue then as they are now. Appealing to Lady Luck seems to be a part of human nature, but some unfortunately become addicted to the highs and lows of gambling, willing to lose everything in the pursuit of that one life-changing payout.
Fixed Odds
In Wales, problem gambling is on the rise. Wynfod Ellis Owen, the Chief Executive of Living Room in Cardiff – a centre that helps gambling addicts – insists that we have a “huge, huge problem” based solely on his research into electronic touchscreen Fixed Odd Betting Terminals (FOBTs). The Gambling Commission has revealed that Welsh gamblers staked more than £1.6bn on fixed odds betting terminals in 2012. Described by addicts as the ‘crack cocaine’ of gambling and primarily found in the poorest areas of Wales, FOBTs make it possible to bet £100 every 20seconds. They are easy, fast, and disturbingly addictive. Speaking to BBC Wales, the Swansea East MP Carolyn Harris said: “the machine doesn’t give the punter the opportunity to stop and think about what they’re doing. It’s so rapid, it’s literally pressing a button.”
There are no Wales-specific figures on our gambling situation because the Welsh Government does not consider it a ‘priority topic’, and in July 2015 the Government rejected proposals to reduce the maximum stake on FOBTs from £100 to £2.
But gambling addiction is a very real, maligned and misunderstood illness. Gambling is becoming increasingly easy these days, you can fritter away money from your bedroom via online apps, or from your phone during tedious commutes. The increasing number of gambling options for people who like the odd flutter can be seen as just another form of harmless entertainment, but for problem gamblers there is temptation on every high street, on every TV and iPad screen. Problem gambling carries heavy repercussions: the constant sniff of debt collectors at your door, psychological breakdowns, broken families, unemployment and homelessness. Treatment centres are woefully underfunded, geographically patchy or non-existent, and the gambling industry donates just £6 million per year to the Responsible Gambling Trust. Even the NHS, who spends £200 on each of our nation’s alcoholics, spends just under £10 on problem gamblers. It’s clear that Wales needs an appropriate treatment response to deal with its growing numbers of problem gamblers, including young people and students.
But who gets addicted to gambling? And why?
The Gambler’s Brain
Jerry, a long time friend of my father’s, is always looking for US online sports betting and will gamble on anything (“I bet you a quid the next car that passes us will be blue. Come on! Only a quid!”). I remember him sitting in the kitchen with my dad, cigarette smoke filling the tiny space, staring secretly at his spread of cards.
Last summer he called me up to tell me about his new ‘system’ involving horse racing. “It’s failsafe!” he said, “there’s no reason why it won’t work!” He asked if I would test his system out for a few days by using his BetFair account, because he was so busy working he couldn’t find the time to gamble. I agreed. He gave me a meticulous set of handwritten instructions, how to bet, when to bet, and how much to bet. The limit for each race was £100. I told him I would probably not bet over £20 as I wanted to test his system responsibly.
Let me come clean. I have an addictive personality. Smoking, drinking, you name it. I am also a highly competitive person. I should have known how this little experiment would play out. I thought I’d keep a cynical distance, but within three days of the experiment starting I was betting higher and higher amounts on each race. A loss was crushing. A win was orgasmic. Then I realized I could watch each race live on television. I moved my gambling station from my sunny garden into the living room, filling the place with cigarette smoke, fixated to the screen. By the time the weekend rolled around, I was gambling for eight hour stretches.
The system didn’t work. Of course it didn’t. Jerry lost £500 and I gained some insight into my own personality. I am the type of person who should never, ever gamble.
In the past, gambling was described as a ‘compulsion’ or an impulse control disorder rather than an addiction, placing it in the same category as illnesses like kleptomania and pyromania. Now the DSM-5 (the Holy Bible of mental disorders) classifies problem gambling as an addiction. And like any other addiction, there is a specific biological process that underpins it.
According to Scientific American, gambling and drug addictions work in similar ways on the brain and share many of the same genetic predispositions for impulsiveness and reward-seeking. Gamblers and drug addicts seek the same thrills. A drug addict will take higher and higher doses to achieve the same high, a gambler will take more and more risks. There is evidence to suggest that drug and gambling addicts have under-active reward systems in their brains. Addiction used to be described as a dependency on a chemical, now it is understood as the repeated desire to chase a pleasant experience despite catastrophic repercussions.
Problem gamblers respond well to medications and therapies reserved for those suffering from addictions, such as opioid antagonists and cognitive behavioural therapy. CBT challenges a gambler’s problem thinking, and opioid antagonist’s reduce cravings.
With this knowledge, it’s hard to understand the lack of support offered to problem gamblers.
Youth Online
Approximately 450,000 children are gambling in England and Wales every week, and 9000 of those are problem gamblers. According to the Young People and Gambling Report, 16% of 11-15 year olds have gambled in the last week, whereas only 5% have smoked, and 6% have taken drugs. Online poker was preferred by young boys, and online bingo was more popular with girls.
Adverts for online gambling should take some responsibility for the rise in young people gambling. We’ve all seen the poker and roulette adverts where men in crisp white shirts and sunglasses are living out some kind of Bond-esque fantasy life. Bingo adverts often feature pretty young women sipping Prosecco with their friends or sitting in front of the iPad in their slippers, casually winning hundreds of pounds from the comfort of their homes. ‘Bored with your life? Gamble!’ ‘Wanna be a powerful, attractive man? Gamble!’ These messages can seem harmless but we’ve done away with the aspirational cigarette and alcohol advertisements of the past because society understands the cost of glorifying addictive behaviours. If gambling is classed as an addiction, why is it still being advertised in this fashion?
Last year the body of Cardiff teenager Omair Abbas was discovered in the River Ely. He had ended his life after losing over £5000 on online betting sites. His bank account was overdrawn. He died because his addiction took him over. If there had been more awareness around the issue of problem gambling and more ways to find and receive help, such a tragedy may have been avoided.
If a person starts drinking at a young age, there is a likelihood of it becoming a problem and affecting their adulthood. If we want sensible, responsible gamblers in our country then focusing on the young is vital. Advertisements should be more strictly regulated. Parents should take care to close down betting sites on their computer after use, and keep their passwords secret and safe to stop children from hijacking their accounts.
Beat the Odds
Thankfully, there is an attempt to deal with our country’s gambling problem with special focus on the highly addictive Fixed Odds Betting Terminals.
Dr. Simon Dymond, director of the experimental psychopathology lab at Swansea University said “The Government’s recently announced review of electronic gaming machines and the work of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs) means that much needed legislative change may be coming to protect current and future generations from the pernicious effects of these easily accessible, high-stakes games.”
Labour Peer Baroness Morgan who tabled an amendment to the Wales Bill to give Wales responsibility over FOBTs remarked, “Fixed Odds Betting Terminals have become a huge problem in communities that are often struggling to cope with under-investment and high unemployment, exacerbating the problem of gambling more than any other form of betting.” She said that deregulating the gambling industry was “one of the worst things Labour did.”
Theresa May is now set to expand an ongoing inquiry into FOBTs to include gambling adverts too, ahead of a possible daytime ban.
But what if you yourself suffer from an addiction to gambling? Well, pay a visit to the Beat the Odds website (www.beattheodds.wales) to get valuable advice on your issue. Beat the Odds attempts to tackle the stigma associated with problem gambling, and they encourage anyone who feels out of control with their gambling habits to get in touch.
Alternatively, you may prefer to call Gamblers Anonymous: 020 7384 3040
Remember, the house always wins, but you don’t have to lose.
words VICTORIA O’HAGAN