Gambling on gullibility

FIRMS such as bet365 are not the only online sites to encourage irresponsible gambling. I enjoy online bingo and play on a number of websites. You can have multiple accounts on each site providing a different payment method is used for all of them.

A minimum weekly wager for eligibility means you are invited to play VIP games where you can win up to £200. However, I was banned when I won more than I wagered. I am only talking about £70 in winnings on a wager of £10 a week.

I received an email telling me I was banned for three months to give others a chance. Strangely, I see other players winning up to ten games a day and they don’t get banned. I imagine they must wager more than they win.

One worrying aspect is that chat hosts use terms of endearment and pet names for players, which gives the impression they are your best friends. Anyone who is emotionally vulnerable could be sucked in.

A pop-up message reminds you how long you have been on the site, but you can opt out of this.

You can set limits on how much you wager and activate a break from the site. I did this for a month and, when I returned, I received a gift of £30 in my account.

I have never been asked for ID or age verification on any of the sites.

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