Should gambling be banned?

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  • Online gambling companies have been urged to remove adverts featuring images likely to appeal to children.

    Regulators said the "unacceptable" ads and third-party media, which contain graphics and images that are likely to be attractive to minors, should be "immediately" removed or amended.

    They said this particularly applied to adverts for free and pay-to-play games.

    Some 95% of TV advertising breaks during live UK football matches feature at least one gambling advert, the Victoria Derbyshire show has found.

    One in five of the commercials broadcast across 25 matches were for betting firms, rising to more than one in three in some games.

    The government is considering whether new restrictions are needed, with a report expected as early as this week.

    Two separate stories here published a few days apart with the top story coming out today, but both are linked by the subject of gambling adverts.

    As I don't watch football on TV, I'm completely unaware of the amount of gambling ads during match breaks and same with the first story. I have't played computer games in ages, and as I guess all games come from the net now, this is also getting the attention of the gambling industry made worse by the fact that children are being targeted. They are the ones most likely to play games.

    My own direct experience of gambling adverts on tv is late at night. It never used to be the case, but it is now and its not even adverts, but ITV and others seem to sell their whole night time schedules over to the gambling industry. When did that start? It never used to be allowed.

    Do curbs need to be placed on gambling on TV and if so what? Reduce gambling ads during football, protect kids from gambling ads, how would you do it?

  • Personal RESPONSIBILITY, i have never , ever been tempted to bet on a sporting event because an actor does an advert at half time, i suspect the VAST majority of viewers are the same.

    Gambling employs thousands of people , i bet about three times a year , i don't want bans .

    I was a Honda VF500 owner in Rothmans colours in my 1980's youth, i have never , ever smoked or tried a cigarette, let's have personal responsibility, i know the left detest it but it works.

  • So where do they draw the line and decide what is or isn't gambling, as there are adverts for various lotteries are lotteries considered gambling or not, what about online bingo sites should they be allowed to advertise?

  • In a sense Ron, this is the problem.

    There used to be no gambling adverts on tv of any kind whether bingo, lottery, horses, cards etc. Now. we're awash with them.

    Personal RESPONSIBILITY, i have never , ever been tempted to bet on a sporting event because an actor does an advert at half time, i suspect the VAST majority of viewers are the same.

    Gambling employs thousands of people , i bet about three times a year , i don't want bans .


    I was a Honda VF500 owner in Rothmans colours in my 1980's youth, i have never , ever smoked or tried a cigarette, let's have personal responsibility, i know the left detest it but it works.

    That was always my view too. Keep the State out of everyone's business, we don't need nannying, but the problem is, an increasingly amount of people do need help.

    Gambling is getting worse. Either we leave them to "get on with it" and let them take personal responsibility, which if they're in a sea of debt, they won't be able to, or, government intervention is required.

  • If anything the lottery with the various scratch-cards and what have you, could be the worst culprit as you are allowed to play from the age of 16, whereas other forms of gambling you have to be at least 18.

  • I don't like the idea of banning things just to protect a minority who can't control themselves. They need to be recognised and helped. I think schools also have a role to play here in educating the young that there is no such thing as a free lunch and when betting, the house always wins in the end.

  • I find the idea of a total Nanny State very scary. A minority of people have compulsive disorders/illnesses, gamblers, alcoholics etc, but to attempt to remove temptation by censoring the adverts they see will never get rid of the problem. Look how extensive the legislation has had to be in order to make people stop smoking.

    Maybe the State should stop Banks advertising and lets not forget shops!!!!!!!!! after all these businesses may encourage the 'poor' to spend their money.

  • I'm watching football on telly now - a lot of the stadium ads are in Thai and Chinese for their TV audiences, gambling is illegal in both nations. Before I went back into "proper" engineering I was, amongst other things, self-employed fixing catering equipment in local restaurants, bars etc. - in pretty much all the Thai and Chinese places I went to they seemed obsessed with gambling - I got to know some regulars quite well and came across a few nasty stories e.g. lost businesses, broken marriages but that didn't stem the general obsession. I wonder if growing up in nations where you couldn't gamble made the desire even stronger? I've met Brits that like a flutter, in some cases quite a heavy flutter, but never came across so many horror stories amongst the British people I know.

  • I might tell you a horror story one day.

    Gambling is fine for those who have the money and their situations are stable, it's when someone becomes unstable, is the problem.

    Having gambling ads and nigh time schedules of our main broadcast channels (except the Beeb) filling with gambling shows is making this worse.

  • Having gambling ads and nigh time schedules of our main broadcast channels (except the Beeb) filling with gambling shows is making this worse.

    BBC hype up the National Lottery to make hours of "entertainment" out of what is essentially gambling, so they're all as bad as eachother there.

  • Maybe the State should stop Banks advertising and lets not forget shops!!!!!!!!! after all these businesses may encourage the 'poor' to spend their money.

    I certainly would have no objection to all adverts on TV being banned.

    BBC hype up the National Lottery to make hours of "entertainment" out of what is essentially gambling, so they're all as bad as eachother there.

    They used to but they no longer have a Lottery show on Saturdays anymore and haven't done for quite a few months.

  • BBC hype up the National Lottery to make hours of "entertainment" out of what is essentially gambling, so they're all as bad as eachother there.

    Fair point. I actually forgot about the lottery. In some ways that's worse than the other main channels which have their night time schedules stuffed with roulette or whatever they#re currently doing, the Beeb have it on primetime.

  • I certainly would have no objection to all adverts on TV being banned.

    :thumbup::thumbup:

    They used to but they no longer have a Lottery show on Saturdays anymore and haven't done for quite a few months.

    Any idea why, Ron? Are they just giving it a rest, or is it a permanent thing? I know a lot of pressure was on the BBC to get rid of the lottery shows and let ITV take the whole thing on.

    As you can see from this forum, which is meant to cover media issues too...:whistling: I haven't been following media stories very closely, something that will get rectified once I get the time.

  • Any idea why, Ron? Are they just giving it a rest, or is it a permanent thing? I know a lot of pressure was on the BBC to get rid of the lottery shows and let ITV take the whole thing on.

    The 'official' reason given was something like the viewing figures dropped significantly due to people checking results online rather than watching them on TV or something like that, apparently some folk like watching the drivel that ITV offer on a Saturday evening.

  • The 'official' reason given was something like the viewing figures dropped significantly due to people checking results online rather than watching them on TV or something like that, apparently some folk like watching the drivel that ITV offer on a Saturday evening.

    I actually quite enjoyed some of those lottery shows, but I hadn't realised they had stopped. Shows how much attention I pay to things!

  • The maximum stake on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) will be reduced to £2 under new rules unveiled by the government.

    Currently, people can bet up to £100 every 20 seconds on electronic casino games such as roulette.

    Should these gambling terminals be banned altogether?

    The problem with these betting machines is they are prolific in poor areas and the people most susceptible to getting addicted to gambling are those with financial problems, despite the reduction on the amount that can be bet.

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