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McSplooger

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In a Happy Society millions of children would grow up unified in family , not needing any distraction .....but here in the real world ,society is divisive,  predatory, unequal and demands that young people have the latest fashion, latest iPhone, latest games and of course all the media driven activities that go with the life style.  Obviously if you are young, broke, and in a deprived area , living hand to mouth the lure of easy money drives you into Gambling or into drugs , for the money ,or for the potential to change your life. 

Of course its a lie ......but any 18 year old who wants some trainers for £180 isn't going to want to work 9 to 5 , 60 hours a week to get the money , because all his mates can get them very quickly through petty crime, or Gambling ....drugs and sadly prostitiution .   So in reality the perception of the haves and have  nots has a great bearing on the life of a Gambler... 

Peer pressure wasn't there when I was young .....neither we're Nike, or Adidas , or Amazon for that matter, so it is a change in society that is needed here ,and to do this we must express old fashioned values and ditch the current celebrity driven social media hype , so that children can learn the reality of virtue , hard work , and reward. Society as a whole must reward people who work much more fairly....

So regardless of approach it is society as a whole that must change  in its greedy attitude so that the individual is properly rewarded and can see a decent future , a pathway that is worthwhile and then Gambling will seem less of an alternative..... 

As the corona virus moves into our lives we are all observing the effect all around us , as big business has no control at all on the future .....its all down to natural changes that will appear as the virus closes down sport,  major events , and many of the daily activities we enjoy .....this is a great leveller and many people will realise how different this world could be without celebrity and media .......  The government has no control either , so maybe the virus will prove to be the catalyst for change that brings equality that big business has denied us for so long , and as a result values will change and our children see what really matters !!

 

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14 minutes ago, McSplooger said:

Hey, thanks a lot for your help. 

Its more to do with what advice we would give our younger selves if that makes sense. Do you think you could of said anything to a younger you to change your ways a bit? For sure anything will help though, its good to hear others experiences and relay that back to the youth. 

Appreciate your time man! 

I am writing out things I remember from being young and surrounded by gambling  in many forms  which made gambling seem like a normal part of life without realising it.

I think the only way to protect young people is to not expose them to the risk in the first place.   Nowadays they are exposed to gambling within computer games  and buying things to improve their "experience"   so they are  conditioned when it comes to taking the next step  into  gambling  on horses/football  or slots  or poker.

In Ireland they had to stop bookies taking bets on youth  games as school kids were betting on them.

I was warned by a  gambler that  had got into trouble , and had lost a  house  through gambling, that he could see that I had problems when I was in my late teens.  Because I always earnt good money  and had money to do what I wanted despite my gambling  I never really considered myself as having problems as such  and therefore ignored the warning.   When we are young we all think we are smarter than others  and "that will not happen to me "   always seemed to be the motto we lived by. 

i think it is hard to convince younger people that they could be heading for problems   which is why I feel you need peoples life experience  to show them the potential consequences. A bit like an adult telling people about knife crime or drugs and they are ignored  but if it comes from someone doing time as a consequence  of being involved   and being able to tell what is like from the inside with knowledge, that the young people know to be real, they are more inclined to listen.

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I think educating young ill informed people on the true facts, figures and probabilities on gambling would be a step forward.

Everywhere you look these days gambling advertising is rammed down your throat.

If there was some sort of booklet made available actually de-glamourising gambling explaining in depth  the whole industry, the dirty tricks that are played to reel you in and how the bookmakers/ casinos make money I’m sure it would put a lot of newcomers off.

More knowledge more power.

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3 hours ago, McSplooger said:

You seem to have much more knowledge about this than me Cheryl. If you get time then drop me a message if you can. Really appreciate it! 

Yes of course. I will PM you 

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@McSplooger   hope what I  put here will give you something to work off.   I have to say that  i did not realise how exposed to gambling  I was at a very young age until I wrote all this down   I knew I gambled on slots when I was young but it is only when you go over it all you realise  how bad it was.

I was in two minds whether to put it all up but it is two pages long ( I told you it was an essay )   but I am well known for not using one word when a hundred will do !

I have decided to just put up the words i feel meet the criterior you asked for but if at a later date you want it all let me know.

 

 

Once I got in to my late teens I was very unhappy at home and used to go out just to get away and this often meant whole days at week ends spent in betting shops and arcades.This then led to me spending many days at the races at week ends   and then somebody introduced me to Greyhound racing.

In my twenties I owned several greyhounds and used to go racing many nights a week  and  once I went part time for a while I used to  spend time at trials  and even helped school dogs. By my late twenties I was going to the greyhounds 7 nights a week and also spent time in betting shops  during my lunch break.   Saturdays would mean getting to the betting shops for 11am for Hackney and Crayford dogs then through the afternoon horseracing cards (except when playing sport in the summer) and often on to the dogs in the evening.

 

At this time I was making a very good living but would often have very little money left at the end of the month  and would have to live a s cheaply as I could.  I had credit cards and would often draw cash on these to go out with or to gamble with.   This would also be the time that telephone betting took off  and also the spread firms came into sport.   Betfair would then come along later together with online betting.

Sunday nights would often be spent betting on the golf  with the In Running firms like Stan James when you could get in running markets on teletext.

I also got a small inheritance  and  managed to buy my own property with a mortgage which was not too  expensive for me because I was still earning good money  at that time.

As time went on all I did was build more and more debt with banks and on credit cards  which was thrown at me because of my earnings.   Eventually I ended up over 50k in debt   after setting up my own business which got ruined by the foot and mouth outbreak of  2001,  

I eventually had to sell my property and some people got paid off but the banks and credit card debt  never got repaid and I moved abroad .  I could not face people I  was close friends with   who knew how I had wasted so much opportunity.

The words below are those which I feel will be most pertinent in putting young people off a gambling life.

After all this I often had no ambition   as I knew anything I earnt would just go to the bookies  and I have rather drifted for the last twenty years  with me still gambling everyday but on a much smaller scale and  not spending whole days in betting shops. The longest I have managed not to bet is 10 days.

One guy who I met a couple  of times did time for stealing to gamble.  Having got out of prison he got a job which unfortunately meant he was handling money  which in the end was his downfall  as he ended up stealing again to gamble.  He would turn up with his wages in one of those old  pay packets and proceed to do the lot betting on favourites and then be begging to borrow a couple of quid to have another bet.  I have seen people do their rent money  and food money   or guys  do money they were given by a third party to buy  items for them as once they got money they had to bet.  I have known people lose businesses as they could not resist the urge to bet with the company money  and in the end were unable to pay their creditors.

I am getting to be an old man now and this has been my life but despite the good times I have had I really wish I had never been a gambler. I would have had a far more settled and  “normal” life without gambling.  I have never really been in long term relationships because I really believe it is not a life to get anybody else entangled in.

 

I really hope that this will be of use to you @McSplooger   and I decided to put this in the open so that it may hopefully give a few pointers to people who may just be readers of the forum

Edited by philinvicta
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21 hours ago, Solario333 said:

In a Happy Society millions of children would grow up unified in family , not needing any distraction .....but here in the real world ,society is divisive,  predatory, unequal and demands that young people have the latest fashion, latest iPhone, latest games and of course all the media driven activities that go with the life style.  Obviously if you are young, broke, and in a deprived area , living hand to mouth the lure of easy money drives you into Gambling or into drugs , for the money ,or for the potential to change your life. 

Of course its a lie ......but any 18 year old who wants some trainers for £180 isn't going to want to work 9 to 5 , 60 hours a week to get the money , because all his mates can get them very quickly through petty crime, or Gambling ....drugs and sadly prostitiution .   So in reality the perception of the haves and have  nots has a great bearing on the life of a Gambler... 

Peer pressure wasn't there when I was young .....neither we're Nike, or Adidas , or Amazon for that matter, so it is a change in society that is needed here ,and to do this we must express old fashioned values and ditch the current celebrity driven social media hype , so that children can learn the reality of virtue , hard work , and reward. Society as a whole must reward people who work much more fairly....

So regardless of approach it is society as a whole that must change  in its greedy attitude so that the individual is properly rewarded and can see a decent future , a pathway that is worthwhile and then Gambling will seem less of an alternative..... 

As the corona virus moves into our lives we are all observing the effect all around us , as big business has no control at all on the future .....its all down to natural changes that will appear as the virus closes down sport,  major events , and many of the daily activities we enjoy .....this is a great leveller and many people will realise how different this world could be without celebrity and media .......  The government has no control either , so maybe the virus will prove to be the catalyst for change that brings equality that big business has denied us for so long , and as a result values will change and our children see what really matters !!

 

Wise words there Solario. I'm not sure what we can do to change society as a whole though, it's just a sad state at the minute I guess. I think the younger generation for all their naysayers are trying to change, they are lot more forward thinking than days gone by and although social media is awful, it does have its uses and you see a wave of young people using it to good use and highlighting big issues. 

I think when I was younger I didn't realise how much gambling could have a hold over you. The lure must be worse nowadays with the increase in advertisement though. 

Appreciate your input mate, hope youre well. 

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5 hours ago, philinvicta said:

@McSplooger   hope what I  put here will give you something to work off.   I have to say that  i did not realise how exposed to gambling  I was at a very young age until I wrote all this down   I knew I gambled on slots when I was young but it is only when you go over it all you realise  how bad it was.

I was in two minds whether to put it all up but it is two pages long ( I told you it was an essay )   but I am well known for not using one word when a hundred will do !

I have decided to just put up the words i feel meet the criterior you asked for but if at a later date you want it all let me know.

 

 

Once I got in to my late teens I was very unhappy at home and used to go out just to get away and this often meant whole days at week ends spent in betting shops and arcades.This then led to me spending many days at the races at week ends   and then somebody introduced me to Greyhound racing.

In my twenties I owned several greyhounds and used to go racing many nights a week  and  once I went part time for a while I used to  spend time at trials  and even helped school dogs. By my late twenties I was going to the greyhounds 7 nights a week and also spent time in betting shops  during my lunch break.   Saturdays would mean getting to the betting shops for 11am for Hackney and Crayford dogs then through the afternoon horseracing cards (except when playing sport in the summer) and often on to the dogs in the evening.

 

At this time I was making a very good living but would often have very little money left at the end of the month  and would have to live a s cheaply as I could.  I had credit cards and would often draw cash on these to go out with or to gamble with.   This would also be the time that telephone betting took off  and also the spread firms came into sport.   Betfair would then come along later together with online betting.

Sunday nights would often be spent betting on the golf  with the In Running firms like Stan James when you could get in running markets on teletext.

I also got a small inheritance  and  managed to buy my own property with a mortgage which was not too  expensive for me because I was still earning good money  at that time.

As time went on all I did was build more and more debt with banks and on credit cards  which was thrown at me because of my earnings.   Eventually I ended up over 50k in debt   after setting up my own business which got ruined by the foot and mouth outbreak of  2001,  

I eventually had to sell my property and some people got paid off but the banks and credit card debt  never got repaid and I moved abroad .  I could not face people I  was close friends with   who knew how I had wasted so much opportunity.

The words below are those which I feel will be most pertinent in putting young people off a gambling life.

After all this I often had no ambition   as I knew anything I earnt would just go to the bookies  and I have rather drifted for the last twenty years  with me still gambling everyday but on a much smaller scale and  not spending whole days in betting shops. The longest I have managed not to bet is 10 days.

One guy who I met a couple  of times did time for stealing to gamble.  Having got out of prison he got a job which unfortunately meant he was handling money  which in the end was his downfall  as he ended up stealing again to gamble.  He would turn up with his wages in one of those old  pay packets and proceed to do the lot betting on favourites and then be begging to borrow a couple of quid to have another bet.  I have seen people do their rent money  and food money   or guys  do money they were given by a third party to buy  items for them as once they got money they had to bet.  I have known people lose businesses as they could not resist the urge to bet with the company money  and in the end were unable to pay their creditors.

I am getting to be an old man now and this has been my life but despite the good times I have had I really wish I had never been a gambler. I would have had a far more settled and  “normal” life without gambling.  I have never really been in long term relationships because I really believe it is not a life to get anybody else entangled in.

 

I really hope that this will be of use to you @McSplooger   and I decided to put this in the open so that it may hopefully give a few pointers to people who may just be readers of the forum

Damn, it seems like gambling has had a big hold of you for a long period of your life. Thanks for sharing that and for your honesty. 

Do you feel like you could ever just stop? I mean completely stop and not just limit yourself? I find it odd how we carry on despite how many negatives it brings us, I was the same for many years. 

I think the biggest thing I can take from your story is how addiction can have such longevity and how it can dictate the rest of you life. Ive also not really met or spoke to someone who was that deep in greyhound betting, the effects are all the same though regardless what youre betting on. I assume the youth of today are more interested in football betting, such is the way advertisement is but in reality it's all the same.

Appreciate your input mate! Hope things go well for you in the future. 

 

 

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22 minutes ago, McSplooger said:

Damn, it seems like gambling has had a big hold of you for a long period of your life. Thanks for sharing that and for your honesty. 

Do you feel like you could ever just stop? I mean completely stop and not just limit yourself? I find it odd how we carry on despite how many negatives it brings us, I was the same for many years. 

I think the biggest thing I can take from your story is how addiction can have such longevity and how it can dictate the rest of you life. Ive also not really met or spoke to someone who was that deep in greyhound betting, the effects are all the same though regardless what youre betting on. I assume the youth of today are more interested in football betting, such is the way advertisement is but in reality it's all the same.

Appreciate your input mate! Hope things go well for you in the future. 

 

 

I know I am an addict and will never stop ,  To be honest it is all I have known  for so long.   I manage to live fairly well as fortunately I do not have the self destruction button that some have to lose it all anymore.   The reason I put it up is so that hopefully you can help others when they are young and still have chance to get help and stop before it leads to a life of addiction.  

Fortunately there is more help with regards to this  than there was many years ago when there was only Gamblers Anon.

I wish you well with your endeavours  at the university  to make the young aware of the dangers not just of gambling but drink and drugs as well as I am sure there are many than can tell a similar tell no matter what their addiction.

As I said I did think twice about posting it  but if even one person reads it and thinks twice about what they are doing  then I am glad I did. 

it also explains why I am the miserable git who chases kids out of betting shops and causes a rumpus if the staff do nothing about it when teenagers stick their heads in to look at the football.

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3 hours ago, philinvicta said:

I know I am an addict and will never stop ,  To be honest it is all I have known  for so long.   I manage to live fairly well as fortunately I do not have the self destruction button that some have to lose it all anymore.   The reason I put it up is so that hopefully you can help others when they are young and still have chance to get help and stop before it leads to a life of addiction.  

Fortunately there is more help with regards to this  than there was many years ago when there was only Gamblers Anon.

I wish you well with your endeavours  at the university  to make the young aware of the dangers not just of gambling but drink and drugs as well as I am sure there are many than can tell a similar tell no matter what their addiction.

As I said I did think twice about posting it  but if even one person reads it and thinks twice about what they are doing  then I am glad I did. 

it also explains why I am the miserable git who chases kids out of betting shops and causes a rumpus if the staff do nothing about it when teenagers stick their heads in to look at the football.

Its all I knew my adult life too, I quit over 5 years ago then lost a substantial amount just over a year ago and not gambled since. I guess, even for my best efforts I would still count myself as an addict but it I've also gone long periods without gambling so it can be done. I'm glad you've found some kind of happy medium though where you know your limits. Whatever works for you! 

There is a lot more to help now though as you said, gamstop and numerous charities are now in place so that's something to remind someone of even if they've lost a lot or are in trouble. 

I'm glad you did share your own story and theres things I can reference in there in the future hopefully. 

Again, thanks a lot! 

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@McSplooger Alright Apex Predator wannabe!!

What advice would I give younger people about gambling - I would make them aware of the otherside they would never know or heard of!

I remember throughout school we were given talks on everything, drugs etc but nothing about gambling, I'm sure had we known about the destruction it can cause then a lot of our generations might never had placed that first bet or spin! Hearing the real stories of what can happen isn't so much to scare but to let them know if they choose to gamble to be aware of the road they might be going down and what steps to take to get off if they need to.

Maybe also have a chat with Andy Margett as he's now doing something very similar with epicpgc, talking to school and university students about the dangers of gambling.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 09/03/2020 at 19:44, Rocknrolla said:

@McSplooger Alright Apex Predator wannabe!!

What advice would I give younger people about gambling - I would make them aware of the otherside they would never know or heard of!

I remember throughout school we were given talks on everything, drugs etc but nothing about gambling, I'm sure had we known about the destruction it can cause then a lot of our generations might never had placed that first bet or spin! Hearing the real stories of what can happen isn't so much to scare but to let them know if they choose to gamble to be aware of the road they might be going down and what steps to take to get off if they need to.

Maybe also have a chat with Andy Margett as he's now doing something very similar with epicpgc, talking to school and university students about the dangers of gambling.

 

Wannabe. Huh. You cheated for predator you dashboarding noob! 

Looks like this whole thing is on hold for the forseeable but appreciate your advice anyway friend. I have had a word back from the charity in question who are interested in doing something though, although no email correspondence since this whole shit kicked off understandably. Something for next year now it seems! 

How would I get touch with Andy margett by the way? I've seen his videos a few times before and he seems like a good guy. 

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5 minutes ago, McSplooger said:

Cool, will do. Although I preferred to do it externally as ya know, trying to get rid of my TGC addiction and all that

Well some of us want you to come back! Even if it is every now and then and especially if you're offering out some of the sound advice as you do. 

Edited by Jok3st3r
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1 minute ago, Jok3st3r said:

Well some of us want you to come back! Even if it is every now and then and especially if you're offering out some of the sound advice as you do. 

This is pure lies, its only you who wants me back and that's only because I'm shite at competitions so you won't come last haha. 

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