Gambling Clinic for Youngsters Opens

I think parents are the ones to blame here.

I was introduced to gambling online very early, I would say about 13 or 14 years old.

My mum would have the old WH / MG download casino fired up and she would allow me to have the odd press.

It all sounds perfectly innocent, but in reality it got me into the fruit machines and messed me up right up until mid Uni.

Now I have gambling under control, but I blame my parents 100% :p

Rob :)
 
I mean, I’m not complaining. I had a lot of entertainment in my misspent youth!

Saturday afternoons spent down the arcades playing lite a nudge, line up, Tuppeny nudger and the sorts.

Back then fruit machines actually were entertaining and fun, unlike now. The jackpots were very low like £3 or even less I can’t remember lol.

Rob :)
 
Threads merged.
 
Bit of a fine line as to who deems it problem gambling or whether it's just more virtue signalling while the real elephant in the room gets ignored.

Scroll down the 'article' and you'll see a brat err I mean child holding a console controller. Every kid these days has several devices, gadgets, constant access to these types of things.

Then you have modern slots almost being 'videogame-like' in their production values these days, so further blurring of what's acceptable and what's just entertainment.

Then you have 'loot boxes' in video gaming which are purchased (with real-life money!) to attain better in-game perks, and most certainly a form of gambling.

Companies ignore ethics altogether and would rather rename loot boxes 'Surprise Mechanics', yes, Surprise Mechanics!

So the NHS' faux concerns and feeble attempts to label kids as x y z can just jog on :cool:
 
Bit of a fine line as to who deems it problem gambling or whether it's just more virtue signalling while the real elephant in the room gets ignored.

Scroll down the 'article' and you'll see a brat err I mean child holding a console controller. Every kid these days has several devices, gadgets, constant access to these types of things.

Then you have modern slots almost being 'videogame-like' in their production values these days, so further blurring of what's acceptable and what's just entertainment.

Then you have 'loot boxes' in video gaming which are purchased (with real-life money!) to attain better in-game perks, and most certainly a form of gambling.

Companies ignore ethics altogether and would rather rename loot boxes 'Surprise Mechanics', yes, Surprise Mechanics!

So the NHS' faux concerns and feeble attempts to label kids as x y z can just jog on :cool:

Have to agree with you here. There are also tons of these free slot apps you can download from app stores which you win coins on. They are normally filled with "Play for Real" ads and a lot are actually created by the casino operators and games providers. Sure there is one for Merkur and Novomatic that you win "coins". Not age restricted either because it's not actually classed as 'gambling" in that sense but it can clearly lead to it.
 
I think parents are the ones to blame here.

I was introduced to gambling online very early, I would say about 13 or 14 years old.

My mum would have the old WH / MG download casino fired up and she would allow me to have the odd press.

It all sounds perfectly innocent, but in reality it got me into the fruit machines and messed me up right up until mid Uni.

Now I have gambling under control, but I blame my parents 100% :p

Rob :)
100% Disagree, I think the fact that there are Gambling fruit machines ect you can play under 18 is a big issue. "Amusements parks/piers" full of gambling games even 1p/2p penny machines its all a form of gambling even if its fun/entertaining for kids. Its apart of a holiday experience something what seems harmless fun can lead in to an addiction.
 
100% Disagree, I think the fact that there are Gambling fruit machines ect you can play under 18 is a big issue. "Amusements parks/piers" full of gambling games even 1p/2p penny machines its all a form of gambling even if its fun/entertaining for kids. Its apart of a holiday experience something what seems harmless fun can lead in to an addiction.

Yep, I'm from a seaside town and we had at least 5 of these places with no restrictions whatsoever on under 18s at that time(90s). I used to go down and lose my birthday money, Christmas money, pocket money all the fucking time. It definitely started me on a gambling path. By the time I turned 20 online had taken off so did that instead. It's a slippery slope.
 
i grew up in the 70s - i was probably 6 by the time I knew how to sit around the table with everyone and play poker for nickels and dimes
our resort town had bingo (we used dried beans as markers) and you could win cash; again I must have been well under 10)
 
Yep, I'm from a seaside town and we had at least 5 of these places with no restrictions whatsoever on under 18s at that time(90s). I used to go down and lose my birthday money, Christmas money, pocket money all the fucking time. It definitely started me on a gambling path. By the time I turned 20 online had taken off so did that instead. It's a slippery slope.
i too am from a seaside town those early years of spending all summer up the seafront led to a terrible addiction took me years of losing to learn the art of control something that only really comes with age
 
I mean, I’m not complaining. I had a lot of entertainment in my misspent youth!

Saturday afternoons spent down the arcades playing lite a nudge, line up, Tuppeny nudger and the sorts.

Back then fruit machines actually were entertaining and fun, unlike now. The jackpots were very low like £3 or even less I can’t remember lol.

Rob :)
I have a lite a nudge and a Line Up, plus many other fruities from the late 70s /early 80s. I started on the AWPs when the Jackpot was £1. True games back in the day.
 
I have a lite a nudge and a Line Up, plus many other fruities from the late 70s /early 80s. I started on the AWPs when the Jackpot was £1. True games back in the day.

Nice. I bet they cost a small fortune. I don’t remember the jackpot being £1, however I do remember the old one arm bandits with the pull handle that was like 20p for XXX and 40p for Bar Bar Bar :D
 
i too am from a seaside town those early years of spending all summer up the seafront led to a terrible addiction took me years of losing to learn the art of control something that only really comes with age
I am not from the seaside but we went there for a fortnight every year and that is what started me gambling. By the time I was in my teens I would spend the whole time in the arcades. Even when my money ran out hoping a few pennies would fall out of those push machines under their own weight, which happened now and again.

When I look back at the desperation I had to gamble at such a young age I never had a chance really. I was always going to have a problem but I do think to a certain degree it’s there from day one as in its genetic. It just depends at what age and how you trigger it.

It’s taken me forever and a day to be able to control it. At one time I was just completely reckless. All any amount of winnings meant was that I could gamble for longer. It’s the makeup of your personality I believe that leads to addiction.

As a child I was unbelievably competitive. I couldn’t stand being beaten at anything to the point of obsession (I am not great nowadays but age has taught me to at least lose with dignity) and poker is pretty much the only competitive game I am involved in. Again when linking this stubbornness not to beaten with gambling it is not such a great trait to have.

I also remember to this day watching a Disney cartoon when I was about 5 called Paul Bunyan. It’s about a guy who was an amazing lumberjack and the local town hero. He could cut down trees for fun but as time moved on along came the chainsaw and a man that claimed it was quicker and more efficient. A contest was held and Paul lost by the narrowest margin.

Of course this was an unusual ending for this type of story as the hero always won and it upset me deeply. Far more than is normal for a 5 year old, so much so that 50 years later I still remember that day.

The cartoon (1958) was way ahead of its time with what it was actually saying. At that age I didn’t understand that part as in eventually technology supersedes all before it. Your probably wondering what all this has to do with gambling? I am not sure it does but the part that upset me so much is that MAN could not beat MACHINE however hard he tried.

Was there something deep in my psyche that recognised this as a connection with something I would later struggle with in life or was it part of the catalyst that would later unfold and lead to me trying to prove man could beat machine but like Paul Bunyan ultimately failing.

Who knows for sure it could have no bearing whatsoever but then why would it stick in my memory all this time.
 
Not just gambling, but young people develop addictions more rapidly. They don't feel connected to older members, nor share the same experiences, and need peer support in groups.

I've been to one GA meeting in my life, more than 30 years ago. I went to support a friend, although to be honest I was not in good control of my gambling either. The only meeting in town was at a prison. We were the only two women there (I did not share), and only three men out of the 20 odd were not inmates. I would not say I was in control of my gambling at that time either, but even years later, it was still the only meeting in my city. She did not return either.

Even when I attended quit smoking group in my early twenties, it felt like older people felt it would be easier for me as I had not smoked as long.
 
I am not from the seaside but we went there for a fortnight every year and that is what started me gambling. By the time I was in my teens I would spend the whole time in the arcades. Even when my money ran out hoping a few pennies would fall out of those push machines under their own weight, which happened now and again.

When I look back at the desperation I had to gamble at such a young age I never had a chance really. I was always going to have a problem but I do think to a certain degree it’s there from day one as in its genetic. It just depends at what age and how you trigger it.

It’s taken me forever and a day to be able to control it. At one time I was just completely reckless. All any amount of winnings meant was that I could gamble for longer. It’s the makeup of your personality I believe that leads to addiction.

As a child I was unbelievably competitive. I couldn’t stand being beaten at anything to the point of obsession (I am not great nowadays but age has taught me to at least lose with dignity) and poker is pretty much the only competitive game I am involved in. Again when linking this stubbornness not to beaten with gambling it is not such a great trait to have.

I also remember to this day watching a Disney cartoon when I was about 5 called Paul Bunyan. It’s about a guy who was an amazing lumberjack and the local town hero. He could cut down trees for fun but as time moved on along came the chainsaw and a man that claimed it was quicker and more efficient. A contest was held and Paul lost by the narrowest margin.

Of course this was an unusual ending for this type of story as the hero always won and it upset me deeply. Far more than is normal for a 5 year old, so much so that 50 years later I still remember that day.

The cartoon (1958) was way ahead of its time with what it was actually saying. At that age I didn’t understand that part as in eventually technology supersedes all before it. Your probably wondering what all this has to do with gambling? I am not sure it does but the part that upset me so much is that MAN could not beat MACHINE however hard he tried.

Was there something deep in my psyche that recognised this as a connection with something I would later struggle with in life or was it part of the catalyst that would later unfold and lead to me trying to prove man could beat machine but like Paul Bunyan ultimately failing.

Who knows for sure it could have no bearing whatsoever but then why would it stick in my memory all this time.
yes i too have similar personality traits very competitive definitely have the addiction gene as have had obsessions with a few things in my life, not always a bad thing i might add as pro sportsman im sure need these traits to reach the top
 

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