Many have commented that the ubiquitous gambling adverts interfere with recovery: always inviting us, tempting us, reminding us, trying to trigger the urge.
What if we use our power to understand the adverts, their goals and methods, to accomplish the exact opposite? To strengthen our resistance?
It would work like this.
First, recognize that the advert has exactly 1 (one) purpose.
Second, the money they propose to gain comes from exactly 1 (one) place.
Third, their maximum gain comes from exactly 1 (one) group.
So this advert has a simple goal.
Goal: Take everything you have.
If a group of unpleasant-looking gentlemen park in front of your house and break down your door with the intent to take everything you have, you are normally upset. You might call the police, or attempt to fight them; but you will rarely shake their hand and help them in their work.
Why do the advertisers deserve a better response than the gentlemen in the car?
And the advert has a simple target.
Target: You. Personally. They’re looking for you. Not your neighbor. Not your friends.
They. Want. You.
Suppose, every time you see one of these adverts (that’s like 100 times a day, right) you specifically identify them: “there goes a chap who wants to hunt me down and take everything I own. The stinker!”
Suppose, every time you see one of those adverts, you experience justifiable rage against them. And, with rage, a resolve not to give them that which they try to take.
100 reminders a day to keep your guard up.
“Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril. When you are ignorant of the enemy, but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain in every battle to be in peril.”
The advertisers are your enemy. Know what they are doing.
Hi dogfan,
Reputable gambling companies do buy in to the concept of responsible gambling and work in concert with bodies like the Responsible Gambling Trust and the Responsible Gambling Strategy Board which - backed by the Gamblling Commission - focus on research, education and prevention.
All of that said, at-risk gamblers may well feel that they are best motivated by adopting the sort of stringent approach you outline in your post. If it works for you, it has merit!
Kind regards,
Forum admin
(Robert)
Robert can you please tell me which gambling organisations buy into responsible gambling? In 18 years as a punter who would spend thousands I couldn't afford in all of the main bookmakers not once did anybody pull me to one side and ask if I thought I had a problem or thought I had spent too much. Many times I was clearly in despair and crying out for help, the only help I got was the offer of a free coffee or can of coke to keep me there. Or how about the text messages off one of the biggest companies that always came if I hadnt been in for a few days offering me free bets if I punt 1000 pound on that day. Is this what you mean by responsible?
This site is to help gamblers and I can't see you finding many on here who believe the gambling organisations act in a responsible way! The ad campaigns on tv and in the press paint a picture of succesful people having fun and winning money, the reality is just so different.
Dear all
Dog fan fella a well written post to which quite simply the gambling industry doesn't want to hear
We are a product in my mind they like to sweep under the carpet, pretend we don't exist.
Born again, Phil that is not robs opinion but the line he is paid by the industry to tow.
After all this forum is funded by them, their gift to us.
Don't make the mistake I did in letting it cloud what the owners of the forum, the recovering compulsive gambler's bring to it.
That for me in black and white is the truth, that gambling addiction exists.
The authors of this amazing place are the only thing that matters
The industry lead elephant in the room can be wheeled out as many times as they choose
Like dogfans approach use it to gift your resolve to address the reason your here
Because like me you have an ADDICTION, not a failure to act responsibly, something no addict can do whilst active.
Keep up the great work one and all
Embrace the gift of recovery.
Abstain and maintain
Duncs stepping forward never back
dogfan wrote:
Many have commented that the ubiquitous gambling adverts interfere with recovery: always inviting us, tempting us, reminding us, trying to trigger the urge.
What if we use our power to understand the adverts, their goals and methods, to accomplish the exact opposite? To strengthen our resistance?
It would work like this.
First, recognize that the advert has exactly 1 (one) purpose.
- To gain money for the advertiser
Second, the money they propose to gain comes from exactly 1 (one) place.
- From the pockets of people who respond
Third, their maximum gain comes from exactly 1 (one) group.
- People who, having gambled once, cannot stop until they are emptied.
So this advert has a simple goal.
Goal: Take everything you have.
If a group of unpleasant-looking gentlemen park in front of your house and break down your door with the intent to take everything you have, you are normally upset. You might call the police, or attempt to fight them; but you will rarely shake their hand and help them in their work.
Why do the advertisers deserve a better response than the gentlemen in the car?
And the advert has a simple target.
Target: You. Personally. They’re looking for you. Not your neighbor. Not your friends.
They. Want. You.
Suppose, every time you see one of these adverts (that’s like 100 times a day, right) you specifically identify them: “there goes a chap who wants to hunt me down and take everything I own. The stinker!”
Suppose, every time you see one of those adverts, you experience justifiable rage against them. And, with rage, a resolve not to give them that which they try to take.
100 reminders a day to keep your guard up.
“Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril. When you are ignorant of the enemy, but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain in every battle to be in peril.”
The advertisers are your enemy. Know what they are doing.
I love this!
It cannot be repeated often enough. It is the mindset that I need to maintain to continue and you have explained it beautifully.
Thank you.
Also, "you stinker" has to be my new insult of choice 😉
1.12.14 The Telegraph
Almost one billion bets are placed every month using the controversial fixed-odds gambling machines which have been dubbed the “****** C*****e” of betting, a study has revealed.
In an illustration of the life-shattering losses these machines can cause, researchers discovered one individual lost more than £13,000 in a gambling session lasting more than seven hours. The average loss, however, was £7 per sitting.
Using play information from every branch of the five biggest High Street betting chains over the last 10 months, the report commissioned by the Responsible Gambling Trust found that more than seven billion bets had been made using the machines in that time.
Researchers also found a link between social deprivation and use of the machines. In England, two fifths of all bets were placed in venues in the most deprived areas. However this did reflect the distribution of bookies, with 38 per cent of the branches in the most deprived areas of the country.
Neil Goulden, chairman of the Responsible Gambling Trust, said: “This research has huge potential to inform the industry's approach to minimising gambling-related harm and we strongly urge the industry to make every effort to improve how problem behaviour is more effectively monitored and managed in the future."
© Alamy Research showed that one individual lost more than £13,000 in a gambling session lasting more than seven hours
Paul Darling QC, chairman of the Association of British Bookmakers, said: “The industry is committed to reducing gambling-related harm and we have already taken action on matters including opening hours, advertising, self-exclusion and tools to help customers to stay within their own limits. Some of our members are already using gaming machine customer data to identify potential problems, thereby better targeting customer interventions.
"We will now use this evidence to help determine how the industry can further help those customers who may be at risk.”
6.45am on a Sunday morning and just seen a Bingo tv advert... Personally they dont affect me what-so-ever but cant help thinking its soooo wrong!!
Totally agree, Sonic Boom.
It's gone berserk. TV stations will take revenue where they can get it. Don't know where it goes from here. Like an express train gaining speed down a mountainside to me.
Thank heaven that bingo was never my thing. It must be someone's though ? Conjures pictures up of thousands little old pensioners sat with tablets. Worse still younger people encouraged to get involved. Never been on a bingo site but I should imagine money could go like water.
God knows where its gonna end up. Will be a really sad day if sometime down the line we get gambling adverts poppin up during the breaks for x factor, im a celeb ect showing odds for the next evictions.
These companies need some morals...
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