Poorest Areas Gamble £13 Billion!

[Zacs-Master]

Makes you think doesn't it.
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/feb/28/englands-poorest-spend-gambling-machines

[Old_Geezer]

Could be desperation, or a perception that they can afford this but not some other pleasure in life.

[naomi24]

Chasing the dream.

[mikey4444]

I am not surprised by this at all. Bookies have always been more prevalent in working class areas than other areas.

I was visiting a council estate in Cardiff recently, that an Estate Agent might describe as "being full of local colour" and in its 1960's parade of shops there were 3 bookies, 2 moneylenders and 3 shops, one of which had a sign over the shop door that read "cheap ciggies and booze"

Bookies cynically target these kind of areas because they know that educational attainment is low...its a simple as that.

All those gambling machines should be banned as far as I am concerned. They just make poor people poorer.

[Peter Pedant]

poor things dont know about life which is why they are stuck in the ghetto.
Public perception of risk is low - and they cant get their heads around a lose-lose situation. and obviously is worse amongst the porr

[Peter Pedant]

In my local Indian paper shop - there is a cash machine charging £1.65 per shot and they cant be arsed to go down the rd 100m where there is a free one.

and no I dont think they realise that they are paying £1.65 not to walk 100m. unfortunately this also extends to rent ( wont pay the landlord unless he deserves it )

[mikey4444]

I am a firm believer in the power that education gives to people.

Most of the poor are poor because they lack the education to be otherwise. These ghastly gambling machines are just another manifestation of the situation. I can't see that they perform any useful purpose whatsoever, apart from making bookies even richer than they already are.

[Mosaic]

Like what Mikey said, it's been known for years that bookies flourish in recesssions and in poor areas. Like smoking, a bit of a flutter is something you CAN do when you can't afford much in the way of pleasure. Which is why the proliferation of glitzy gambling machines is morally wrong.

[ummmm]

Like Naomi says....they are chasing. Either chasing a dream or desperately trying to make up their losses.

Beside the lottery (no adrenaline involved in that) I hate gambling with a passion.

[Zacs-Master]

I realise that bookies and amusement arcades are nearly always found in poorer areas. I also realise why people use them but £13 BILLION! That's approx £140 for every man woman and child in the country.

[FredPuli43]

As said above, plus it is far more likely that people in richer areas will have accounts with bookmakers rather than stand around in betting shops, and the cost to the bookmaker of having a shop on a rich area is far higher than in a poor one.

That said, it is noticeable how small the rich punter's bet is, having regard to income. Even at Royal Ascot, where you might expect them to splash out, bets of £5 to £20 are usual, and that not on every race. You often see people queueing at the Tote window to put £2 on there.

[sunny-dave]

FOBTs are an utter disgrace - they should never have been allowed to spread their slimy web into this country and should be banned by any Government with even a shred of compassion/humanity/principles ...

... I'm not holding my breath :(((

[Zacs-Master]

FOBTs?

[sunny-dave]

Fixed Odds Betting Terminals - in betting shops - like a fruit machine but with much higher stakes and the ability to lose hundreds of £££ in a few minutes on 'roulette' or other 'games'.

[FredPuli43]

FOBT Fixed odds betting terminal.

[jomifl]

It's a question of cart & horse, are they poor because they give all their money to bookies?

[sunny-dave]

As it says in the Graun article.

[FredPuli43]

The strangest thing is the simulated races. The machine runs a computer generated horse race on a screen. Why anybody wants to bet on a make-believe horse in a make-believe race, is beyond me. It's bad enough trying to pick the winner of a real one.

[Zacs-Master]

Thanks. I still find the figure staggering.

[sunny-dave]

I occasionally venture into a bookies (with my minder) to buy some Irish Lottery tickets.

The speed with which each game is concluded on the FOBTs is frightening - more money is pumped in every few seconds - it seems an entirely joyless, addictive activity (judging by the glum faces of the players).

[Zacs-Master]

“I have absolutely no pleasure in the stimulants in which I sometimes so madly indulge. It has not been in the pursuit of pleasure that I have periled life and reputation and reason. It has been the desperate attempt to escape from torturing memories, from a sense of insupportable loneliness and a dread of some strange impending doom.”
― Edgar Allan Poe