to not understand the point of gambling at all and think that is very dangerous

[juiol]

Have namechanged for this as it involves other people

I went out for dinner tonight with my siblings and found out that both my brother and sister both gamble between 8 and 10 times a day on various things from football to greyhounds. They were talking about it today as my sister apparently had given my brother a good tip and they'd both some money. I got talking to them about it and they both appeared completely mesmirised by it whilst I was aghast tbh, my sister said that the feeling of winning was better than sex . I don't get it at all, what is the appeal and surely you won't make any money out of it and you'll lose money which neither of them can afford to do as she is 21 and he is 19 and in low paid jobs.

8 and 10 times a day?!!! sounds like a gambling addiction

YANBU at all. I don't get it either and they both sound as though they have a problem, betting that often sounds very dangerous

They are addicted. Sorry.

YABVU gambling can be very enjoyable and lucrative if you know what you are doing.

YABU there is nothing wrong with gambling. I've spent many afternoons in the bookies betting on the horses and unless you know that they are getting themselves into financial trouble then I suggest you keep out of it.

YANBU. I hate it. My workplace's summer night out is to the casino and I loathe those places so I'm not going.

YANBU I live opposite a bookies and every morning you see the same people queing outside it waiting for it to open and then you see them leaving it when it closes at night. It makes me really

dh works in a bookies and laughed at the statement "if you know what you are doing".

His only "tip" is always go each way on the grand national.

IHaveAFeatureWallAndILikeIt- Dead right, you never see a poor bookmaker

Think of it this way, if there was a way to know what you are doing then people that work for bookies would know it and would go to other bookies and bet and win. That doesn't happen.

Its entertainment and if you stay within your means there is no harm. Its just the same as going to the pub or cinema. If you go beyond your means its a problem.

gambling can take many forms

taking a gamble on making a success of a business
taking a gamble on marrying someone

having a flutter on the lotto

what dont you get OP - if the gamble pays off, you end up a winner, if it doesnt you dont

OP you could replace the word gambling with drinking quite easily, but many of us enjoy a few drinks... Just not 8 or 10 a day

Do you think drinking is very dangerous? I doubt it, ergo YABU.

I am sure this story on another parenting website. Almost exact. However the numbers are inflated here. That's quiet strange.

YANBU

Gambling is highly addictive (your sister's "better than sex" comment is a giveaway) and this sort of thing is on the rise with the internet making it so easy to gamble day or night on whatever takes your fancy.

Not good.

As with alcohol (the comparison on this thread) some people can take it or leave it, some can't. And you don't know which you are until you try it.

Personally I steer well clear of gambling expect the raffle at school and the very occasional lottery ticket (no chance of winning so it really just counts as giving your money away ).

You bro and sis are normalising this behaviour for each other which is also not good.

Know a guy who lost £20,000 by age 19.
Cue loan sharks.
Mum bailed him out by remortgaging her house in the end.

If they are gambling that much and think that much of it, they have a problem. It doesn't end well.

How you describe your sister and brother's gambling raises quite a few 'red flags' in terms of things like:

• possibly gambling with money they can't afford
• frequency of gambling
• the 'better than sex' comment
• probably time spent gambling in a day

If you are genuinely concerned then your starting point should be GamCare and perhaps also Gam-Anon for yourself.

Yanbu. No one knows what they're doing, you're just getting a longer run before the enviable fall than most. Nobody, but nobody, can beat the bookmaker.
I would make gambling illegal actually. It destroys people and has no upside

Good to see that most don't think I'm BU, it was just the way that they were so blaise about it that made me doubt myself.

I started gambling when I was 13 and I've always enjoyed the challenge of betting but to be honest with you it is highly unlikely you can win money by either betting often or betting on things you don't have an edge about. I would tend to have less than 10 bets a year now and only when I know something specific about the bet I'm putting on - usually horseracing (and I work in Newmarket!)

Professional gamblers work extremely hard at it if they want to make money over the course of the year. Both backing and laying they would think they were doing well to be turning over 3-5% profit so to make a good living they would need to be betting in excess of 300,000 a year. Get them to read books like A bloody Good Winner by Dave Nevison - an excellent recap on the life of a pro gambler.

You need to ask them what sort of bets they are putting on and are they keeping a record of profit and loss. This is the only way they will realise where their money is going. Betting for kicks or though boredom is the quickest way into financial difficulties.