Zero Tolerance

Hi there well I'm in the team of abstaining all together from any type of gambling, raffles grand national tombolas, you stay away from all of it, you made a commitment to be gf keep it up. But do not exclude your son he hasn't done anything wrong and will stand out from the other kids if u exclude him from little things like cake raffles which will help his school in the long run. Yes your giving him the money etc but you are not sat anticipateing the outcome,, (I love cake) so fingers crossed he gets a big cream one lol

Good luck xredx

I think I'd be asking the school why they were participating in the normalisation of gambling for the kids. Disgracefully enough they are being softened up as future punters as it is (see choc roulette cereal and Doritos). How about a donation to the school without him taking a ticket and then offering him a drink and cake session in a local cafe as an alternative?

The pub quiz could be gracefully turned down and arrangements made for another night - maybe a night in at yours?

So schools carnt do fund raising lethe because there raising future gamblers what a load of bull!! Temptation will be around kids just like it was around me a million years ago when I went to school. Did all my school progress on to gambling because we had a raffle? Ermmmmmm no is the answer. educate kids on addictions what ever variety..!!!

Great idea about donations but we live in a society where you are singled out if you don't participate so I wouldn't have any issues giving my kids money for school fates etc because I don't want them bullied
Xredx

Maybe re-read? Slowly if necessary because that's not what I said. Perceived pressure from staff to participate in a game of chance is very different to making a free choice at the PTA raffle stall.

'A million years ago' kids weren't being brought up in a culture that shoves gambling at them at every opportunity. If we're going to get a grip on what is undoubtedly a hidden and growing epidemic among the young there will need to be a re-think. Why not start with schools who are already promoting healthy behaviour in other areas?

Child doesn't need to be bullied for not participating. All he needs to do is hand in the money with everybody else and not take a ticket. No-one will notice or care and OP doesn't need to worry he's gambled indirectly. Job done.

You mean back in the day when we was allowed in bookies with our dad's, or pubs with fruit machines. Gambling has been around for many many years even before my day millions of years ago. 🙂

Xredx

Its is gambling and it is a form of pressure selling by the school as they know people will feel obliged to enter.

You will feel a pride burko26 by not doing it. The question is how you overcome the pressure from the school when they send the kids home with books of tickets or expect the kids to but a ticket.

Its wrong on many levels and we have to look behind this seemingly harmless activity.

Take your son and buy a lovely cake from the cake shop...youve paid your money and youve bought a cake you like the look of and hopefully how it tastes...thats the transaction and no gambling...hard earned money to pay for a cake that looks worth the spend.

gambling is everywhere in our society. I suppose you could look at the school T*****a as one of the least harmful if you just pay 50p for a ticket but its still gambling. Gambling creates addicts and we can have the debate about how many addicts/problem gamblers it creates

My view is that we should mention to schools that we are proud not to gamble and reject their attempts to pressurise people into buying tickets. If a school wants to raise funds they have to present that case to me for a donation but if the government had their way the parents would be buying all the school books and sports equipment

Access to the bookies with Dad and the 2p arcade machines at the seaside etc started a lot of gambling addicts off down a very rocky road.

This is very true cynical. That's where it started for me sadly
Like I said gambling has been in faces for ever

Xredx

Cynical wife wrote:

Access to the bookies with Dad and the 2p arcade machines at the seaside etc started a lot of gambling addicts off down a very rocky road.

Exactly the same sort of thing for me from an early age......I wonder how many others would say the same.

Well yes and there are a lot of things which introduce the idea of a dopamine fix. Cereal packet offers, TV shows and so on.

That will it be me feeling is a goldmine for the marketing industry and gambling dens. I suppose we do have to debate whether any willy wonka style golden ticket offer should be allowed or where the limits are.

Ok I was going easy on the T*****a and there will be people who buy up tickets all afternoon until they have got something or not.

There will be plenty of people who say that problem gamblers are trying to spoil the harmless fun of others and that is the main debate

Back in the day gambling was much more heavily regulated also carried much more of a social stigma which meant less potential problem gamblers were exposed to it. That said it's amazing how many stories on here alone start with family members introducing children to the 2p machines in the arcade. Not all of them became addicts obviously (I didn't and nor did my sibling) but I do think the potential is there from a young age.

A family member recently won a prize in the school raffle one of the children (not his own) had spent all his allowance trying to win. He gave it to the child anyway but still...

I started on fruit machines when I was twelve. I dont know if that was considered underage at the time but nobody stopped me. I remember that day well so something took over. I dont remember many other days of that holiday which is a scary thought. I remember being feeling excited and pleasantly naughty as I snuck backwards and forwards with pockets full of coins. It was everything I suddenly wanted to do and the start of a forty year addiction to the damned things

I also remember the 2p shove machines and the horse racing table machines a lot of which looked well dodgy with coins falling down the back and off to the sides of the tray. They didnt appear regulated or monitored and Ive never been protected from any of this stuff.

Im pretty annoyed about the lack of regulation. I managed to sink the price of a small car in just one year by walking in off the high street.

Its simply not acceptable to have a gambling industry which is ruining lives and draining money from the economy in this way.

Hi JD

When I said gambling was more heavily regulated way back when I meant the allegedly harder forms like bookies premises and casinos. Allowing children to gamble in arcades is in retrospect quite shocking and it's even worse that it still happens now. It's a glaring loophole in safeguarding IMO.

Hey joy divider we are the same 40 years of gambling all starting off at the seaside or in our local chippy even our local bendix had 1..

Well I'm comming up to nearly a year of a gamble free life had many lows along the way, but am now loving my life money in my pocket No lies hidden a much better person.

I hate gambling and everything that surrounds it. But in my opinion I reckon it won't ever go away its been around since I've been alive its got worse over the years with advertising etc.

The only way is to never have a flutter in the 1st place

Xredx