I heard on the news today that Councils are to be given the power to control the number of betting shops on the High Street. Probably good news but I wonder how relevant this is in today's world.
Is anything being done to control on-line gambling? Every evening there are constant advertisements promoting bingo and casino sites offering top-ups if you sign up and deposit so much.
I've never gambled on-line. I don't gamble full stop. Never even bought a lottery ticket. But I have spent hours playing games either on-line or on my computer and I know how addictive they can be. I don't know how much it costs to play a game of bingo on-line, but I bet it doesn't take very long and you are soon tempted to play again, and again and again.
How many people are sitting in front of their computers for far too long every day hoping for that jackpot?The prizes sound fantastic, but do the players realise how many other people are playing? One advert said there was a large pot and everyone would win - yeah, probably a couple of quid at the most by the time that pot was divided down to all the players.
Once again, technology has shot ahead of legislation. Technology means you can take your casino with you everywhere you go. You don't even have to wait until you get home before you start playing. Is this good? If nothing else there should be restrictions on the number of advertisements that are put out on television.
Has anyone done an investigation into the habits of on-line gamblers to see if this IS getting to be a problem? Maybe I'm being too pessimistic. Maybe players know when to stop. Maybe people are not running up huge bills to pay for the nightly fix of bingo or casino games on their computers, tablets or phones. I certainly hope not, but I fear these sites are going to be a far bigger problem than gaming machines in betting offices. Let's face it, you have to GO somewhere to get to a betting office. If you have the technology you could lose a fortune right in your own front room.
