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Gambling issues By Teresa Tunstall
T
he world of problem gambling is a complex one..However nowadays more is being done to help those that have issues when it comes to gambling and betting habits. In fact much more help is available from both self-exclusion through to reducing the stakes on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals. This is because they were considered to be the ‘crack cocaine of betting”; the industry is attempting to leave no stone unturned in its pursuit for a way of making betting and gambling fairer for those that have an addiction. Now one thing that some members of the betting community are suggesting is that problem gamblers should be refunded their losses-- the suggestion being that if the betting industry didn’t do enough to help them in the first place, then they should suffer more than the people
INFINITY GAMING
who have a mental health problem in the form of an addiction to something harmful. This was demonstrated in 2017 when 888 organisations were fined a record £7.8 million for failing to stop players who had self-excluded from placing bets. To illustrate this,. one customer was refunded £133,000 during this time!. In advance of ‘Safer Gambling Week’ which happens soonand aims to raise
awareness of the dangers of gambling, recent evidence has revealed the scale of addiction across the UK, which soared during lockdown as people dealt with loneliness, isolation and boredom. UK gamblers lost an astonishing £14.36 billion last year, compared with £8.36 billion a decade ago, with an estimated 207,000 Scots addicted or at risk of developing an addiction.