Whether it's an annual flutter on the Grand National, Friday night at the Bingo Hall - or a 24 hour online addiction - most of us have some experience with gambling. Over 30 million British people place a bet on something every year - that's more than half the population.
We're a gambling nation. We have been for a long time - few other nations have 2 or 3 bookmakers on every high street in every town. Perhaps only Ireland can compare. And now it's easier than ever to put your money on a horse-race, a football match or a simulated card-game - with the advent of online gambling. Within seconds you can transfer a month's wages into your account - and place every penny of it on a horse called Lucky Donkey Down a Well. Or some such swiftly named beast.
As we all know, gambling can be massively destructive to people's financial, personal and even physical well-being. One of the reasons governments allow this industry to continue is revenue. The same reason they allow smoking to continue - because it generates huge amounts of money for the treasury. They say, yes, gambling addiction programs and cancer wards cost a fortune - but hey - look at all this cash!
Her Majesty's Government even own Tote - one of Britain's largest betting chains with 500 high street bookmakers. That's what you call a stealth tax.
But the British have always been a nation up for a bet. We gambled several thousand troops and millions of pounds worth of military hardware to secure a few sheep-covered rocks in the Falklands. Those sheep are now safe. If by safe you mean long-since turned into dog food, and Edinburgh Woolen Mill granny jumpers.
We bet that if a nice chap called Neville Chamberlain flew to Munich to chat with the world's most evil genius, said genius would be sure to behave himself and not use his huge military arsenal to destroy Europe. Win some, lose some.
In the UK we love to gamble on anything; dog-fighting, cock-fighting, hamster-fighting - with life itself sometimes - I mean eating out in Britain is like playing Russian Roulette with all six bullets in the chamber - and it's your turn next.
But overall, gambling is fun - it gives you a rush. Sometimes people ask me if I have a gambling problem - I say: the only problem is I keep losing. We just need to eradicate this feature of wagering - and we'll be on to a winner.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment