Time to go all-in on gambling controls
THE Gambling Commission is to ban the use of credit cards for gambling.
Around 24 million British adults gamble, more than 10 million of them online, where 22% are problem gamblers. It’s estimated 800,000 use credit cards online.
“Credit card gambling can lead to significant financial harm,” said Neil McArthur, CEO of the Gambling Commission. “The ban should minimise the risk of harm to consumers from gambling with money they do not have.”
Banning credit cards is a small step. I’d ban TV advertising as well. ‘When the fun stops – stop’ is the codicil put on every advert but that means nothing to an addict. It’s a sympathy tag from an industry awash with profit that can, in extreme cases, cause young men to commit suicide. The Gambling With Lives Campaign estimates the figure could be as high as 500 a year.
I’ve seen the bad side of gambling personally. My best friend, many years ago, was comedian Lennie Bennet, who was a gambling addict. He would lose his money and then mine. Sammy Davis Jr used to tell a gag about how gamblers in Las Vegas ditched sensible resolutions as soon as they sat down at the tables. “Give me that money I told you not to give me,” they would say to their friend when they hit a losing streak. I’d had that same conversation at casinos all over the north of England.
The last time Lennie used it was in a nightclub in Bolton. Later he had to leave his expensive wrist watch as collateral with the pump attendant of an M6 service station for two gallons of petrol to get us home to Blackpool. I asked him why he did it.
“For the buzz,” he said. “When you win?”
“Win or lose. It’s the buzz.” He eventually got the addiction under control which was just as well: he played The Sands for a season in Las Vegas. Sammy Davis Jr and Frank Sinatra were top of the bill and still telling the gag. Maybe that was his up-closeand-personal moment.
His addiction was frightening and the reason I’ve never been a gambler. For me, thank goodness, the fun never started.