Bookies make 60% of their profit from addicts like me
Merson blast as he fears gambling relapse
GAMBLING addict Paul Merson says bookies must be stopped from ruining lives as he admits being “frightened to death” of relapsing.
In a hard-hitting documentary, he calls for laws to be tightened to prevent punters losing all their money.
Merson admits his problem is a disease as he claims 60% of firms’ profits come from the 5% of gamblers like him.
He says: “Betting companies are exploiting ill people. To do what they do is bordering on evil.”
In the film, the former Arsenal and England star looks at the links between football and gambling.
The Sky Sports pundit, who has lost more than £7million, is not calling for all betting to be banned but for firms to have accountability for addicts.
In the UK, one person dies by suicide every day because of gambling issues.
Just as firms close the accounts of successful punters, Merson believes they need to cap addicts’ betting sprees.
He says: “Limits need to be set for these people. The only time they’re going to stop is when everything is gone.” Merson speaks with fellow soccer starsturned-gamblers Keith Gillespie, Scott Davies and John Hartson about beating his addiction one day at a time.
He fears if he relapses it will be the end of him, adding: “I can’t live like this. I think this is last chance saloon.
“There’s been days in the last year when I could go back to it. I loved it.” During lockdown, Merson gambled away all the money he and wife Kate saved for a house deposit and she now only gives him pocket money. He credits her for sticking by him despite the ordeal she and their three children have faced.
Merson kicks out as almost half the Premier League has betting sponsors. Studies show gambling logos appear more than 700 times during TV games, with a huge impact on addicts.
The Betting and Gaming Council cites Government figures that suggest the rate of problem gambling is just 0.5%. It rejected the idea “our industry targets vulnerable customers”.
William Hill referred to research that claims gambling advertising is not “a significant cause of harm”. Paul Merson: Football, Gambling
and Me, BBC1, tonight, 9pm.
The only time addicts are going to stop is when everything is gone
PAUL MERSON CALLS FOR BETTING ACCOUNT CAPS