And they are huge profits – the UK industry is worth about £14bn. ![]() Some 60% of its profits come from from 5% of customers who are already problem gamblers, or are at risk of becoming so. It spends £1.5bn a year on advertising to bring in customers to get hooked on its products for profit. It is not in the gambling industry’s interests to stop people developing gambling addictions. He took advantage of a free bet offer, deposited money, lost money, was immediately advertised another free bet offer, and the cycle would begin again. On one account he reopened during the pandemic, the pattern of his gambling was obviously harmful. ![]() His relapse was so rapid that I still cannot believe it was never picked up by these gambling companies who – at the start of the pandemic – had promised to do more to protect vulnerable customers like Luke. It was then that I realised his gambling disorder had returned. Three weeks after his suicide, the police gave Luke’s phone back to me. Naively, I thought this meant Luke could stop gambling when he wanted to – like the GambleAware slogan: “When the fun stops, stop.” I remember him often commenting on how relentless the marketing emails he was getting were he was concerned about the impact they would have on people who were already struggling with money. ![]() He began gambling again in secret, reopening his old accounts. But in 2020, Luke was furloughed because of the pandemic.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |