this post was submitted on 16 Oct 2024
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UK Politics

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[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 22 points 1 month ago (5 children)

I support banning it. And it's advertising, too. Maybe impose some form of daily limit on in-person gambling as well.

[–] DrCake@lemmy.world 26 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The advertising is a massive one. If you were trying to recover from a gambling addiction, you wouldn’t be able to watch any sport on TV. Every advert, especially late at night, is about betting.

[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 10 points 1 month ago

Exactly. One of my Chinese friends had a big culture shock when they saw a gambling advert lol. They said it should be illegal and I found myself agreeing with them.

[–] Anivia@feddit.org 16 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Trying to ban online gambling will just result in people switching to illegal gambling sites. At least the legal ones can be regulated

[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 6 points 1 month ago
[–] 13esq@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Why stop at online. The amount of pensioners and vulnerable people wasting their money on horses and fruit machines is pretty depressing.

On the one hand, I strongly believe in personal freedom (as long as you're only harming yourself) and if people want to spend their money, that way it should be up to them. On the other hand, some people are vulnerable and need to be protected from themselves.

[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

But they're spending their kids' inheritance. I can see the innocence in putting a few quid against your mates betting on horses. But capitalised rigged gambling is just immoral

[–] HumanPenguin@feddit.uk 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

This. When only one side of the bet can lose. It is not gambling but rigged capitalism.

When an industry manages to remove all the risk from investment. While offering little to the society they inhabit.

High taxation to help return their cost to society. Seems a bare minimum charge.

[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 1 points 1 month ago

At least with the likes of a lottery the odds are obvious and "only one person winning each month", etc. A fruit machine programmed to only win once a month isn't.

[–] Anivia@feddit.org 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

But they're spending their kids' inheritance

How incredibly entitled can you be?

[–] 13esq@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I think it's a fair point just not well made.

To paraphrase my first reply, to each their own, if someone truly enjoys gambling, they'll find a way to do it, legal or not.

However, there is a lot of good that money could be doing, whether it is used to help your kids or anything else like that, rather than it being hoovered up by fat cat CEOs and people that hold shares in gambling businesses.

[–] FelixCress@lemmy.world 0 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)
[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 2 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

It's a predatory market. The only people who benefit are pigs who rig the games.

[–] FelixCress@lemmy.world -1 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

What about the gamers themselves? Don't you think they may like the way they are choosing to spend their time and money in?

[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 0 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

Don't you think meth addicts like how they're spending their money?

[–] FelixCress@lemmy.world 0 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

Don't you think adults are capable of making decisions?

[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 0 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] FelixCress@lemmy.world -1 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

So you believe YOU are more capable of making decisions for them?

[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 0 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

I am more capable of making good decisions than a gambling addict

[–] FelixCress@lemmy.world 0 points 4 weeks ago

So you believe have the right to make these decisions for other adults and dictate them what to do?

[–] Jackthelad@lemmy.world -2 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Yes. People must be told what's good for them by nanny government.

[–] 1rre@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 1 month ago

To be honest, yes they do

If the government provides a safety net for those with no money, it's reasonable for them to ban leading causes of losing money, like gambling, to save money for those who are just unfortunate

If the government provides healthcare, it's reasonable for them to ban leading causes of ill health, like smoking, to save capacity for those with less avoidable illnesses or injuries

[–] chuckleslord@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

How about extremely addicting activities that do nothing but increase the wealth of already wealthy people and drive people who need money into increasing (up to and including absurd) levels of debt isn't a good thing for society. So get rid of it or put in sensible guardrails.

You can have gambling without money being at stake. It's just as "fun" and doesn't ruin anyone's lives anymore than anything else that's addicting.