William Hill does not lose licence

Victims of crime don't normally cost the government much at all.

Smoking and ending up needing a lung transplant and lifelong oxygen costs the NHS loads. So the government had a selfish motive for strongly discouraging it, to the point that smoking is very much a minority fringe activity that's barely visible.

Government and society are not one and the same. Gambling is very bad for society but is probably an overall positive for government finances.

I'm definitely not at all in favour of gambling. But I recognise that the government's not going to curtail what's a pretty good earner for them.

If they really cared they could stop the lottery for starters, as that's their own. But they don't, as it makes tons of money out of basically taxing the dreams of the poor.
 
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It's when people bet everything they own (and don't own) that we have a problem. Putting a £5er on the National Lottery or buying a scratch card is not in the same league as someone emptying their pockets and maxing their credit cards in less than an hour at a casino. I've seem people in Vegas. Your first few days you think, what an amazing place, then after a few more you notice the Vegas zombies spending their life gambling everything they can get.
 
The entire industry is a parasite. They prey on the poor and ill-educated. But who's going to stop them? They pay the government lots of money in taxes and now fines.

I remember being about 8 and hypnotised by a fruit machine in my dad's club. I thought it was amazing that you could put 10p in and get £££s out. Thankfully I had parents who explained that it was a con, and even gave me 10p so I could end up predictably disappointed and get the "told you so" treatment!

There are some who bet profitably, using maths and analysis. They find anomalies in the odds between bookies and always win, by backing all possible outcomes. They win a few times then get banned by all the online bookies. The same goes for card-counting in casinos - not illegal and it gives an advantage over the house. Win a few times and all the cameras will be pointing at you then you'll be told by some heavies that you need to leave, and your photo will be instantly emailed across all the other casinos. That should tell anyone it's not a fair industry.

It probably can't be banned anyway. If the UK banned it they'd all move elsewhere and still be available online in the UK, we'd still have the problem but no tax revenue.

The only way is to ensure that you and those you care about aren't taken in by it all.
 
Last month I stayed at a house once owned by William Hill, coincidence or what!
 
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Ivor Windybottom said:
The country would have a huge black hole in its finances if these sharks weren't able to prey on the vulnerable.
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Do you think the money would disappear?

Perhaps the punters would spend it instead on food, clothing, premium bonds and other useful goods.
 
Gambling companies are some if the main sponsors and advertisers of mainstream tv. The requirement for “health” warnings quickly lose their impact and are challenges to the ad agencies to lose or counter the message. Would anyone stop drinking because the bottle said in large type that alcohol kills.

Blup
 
blup said:
Gambling companies are some if the main sponsors and advertisers of mainstream tv. The requirement for “health” warnings quickly lose their impact and are challenges to the ad agencies to lose or counter the message. Would anyone stop drinking because the bottle said in large type that alcohol kills.

Blup
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The warnings haven't stopped me smoking, either...but the recent price rise will make me try cutting down: £30 for 50g! o_O
I wonder how many gambling companies are among the football clubs guilty of avoiding up to £250m in tax revenue? The woman in charge of Bet365 rakes in a tidy pile every year and doesn't seem to invest much at Stoke City who are sponsored by her company.
 
Odds said:
The warnings haven't stopped me smoking, either...but the recent price rise will make me try cutting down: £30 for 50g! o_O
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Stop, you definitely will not regret it.

I stopped about 10 years ago. My only regret is that I didn't stop sooner. I've got more money, I feel a million times healthier, I don't stink and will definitely live longer.

It tricks your brain into thinking it's enjoyable or relaxing. It isn't, the revelation to me was that I thought that non-smokers permanently felt like I did when I got the craving, and that the calm feeling after smoking was due to the relaxing wonderful feeling of smoking tobacco. In fact the opposite is true - you feel tense when you need it as you're an addict, and only get a short dose of feeling as calm as a non-smoker before the tense craving starts building up again.

All cravings will pretty much go away within a couple of weeks, you just need to tough it out for a short time. Or e-cigs can be a good stepping stone, I used them for a little while. In fact I chopped and changed between smoking and e-cigs for a few months, I found it really helpful to not make a big deal of it. I also didn't tell anyone, hoping nobody would ask me how terrible I felt. In the end I preferred e-cigs to smoking, then didn't think it was difficult to stop completely.
 
Why stop now when i'm enjoying it?
I might go back to smoking my briar pipe once more.
 
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