“At Coral, we want you to bet responsibly,” says the advert running tonight on BT Sport. No, you fucking don’t. You want people to bet and lose vast sums of money, particularly from ‘problem’ gamblers. You’re saying that because you don’t want to get the blame for the problems of something like 300,000 punters whose lives have been ruined by gambling.
Take Bet 365, a company which employs Ray Winstone to encourage people to lose their money. Last year, their profits fell to a mere £2.8 billion, their boss Denise Coates having to scrape by on half a billion quid in salary and dividends. And where did these profits come from? People who lose their money and sometimes their homes in order to try to win the unwinnable.
And these ads are on all the time. Groups of happy middle class blokes, laughing as they win – they always win in TV ads – showing us what isn’t really possible. The real losers are usually at home, chasing their losses by losing more money.
I’ve had the odd bet over the years. A few of us used to do the Saturday football fixed odds at a cost of a quid a week each. I could see the fun of that because a quid was never going to break my bank. But I also knew people who would put fifty, sometimes a hundred, quid on a horse. And lose. It was the same with slot machines in pubs. I’ve played these things too and lost very modest sums but it was never an obsession. When it comes down to it, I suppose I am tight.
An old friend, long deceased, was a professional gambler. He made his money at blackjack and poker, the former by counting cards (against most casino rules) and poker (he once won the Spanish Open). He played only to win and knew when to quit. That’s why he found himself getting banned in so many places. Winners are of no use to any casino. And they’re of no use to betting companies, either.
No business wants you to be miserly with your cash. They all want you to spend money, even if they know full well you don’t have any. Why TV companies are allowed to carry advertisements encouraging people to lose money is beyond me.
