to think that if smoking adverts are banned then so should gambling adverts?

[Bogeyface]

I dont want my kids growing up thinking that spaffing all your wages on a gambling site or app is considered normal and desirable. There has been a huge upsurge in the number of gambling ads in the last few years along with a huge upsurge in payday loan adverts, coincidence?

These ads seem to give the impression that gambling is cool, fun, and perfectly normal but it isnt! A couple of lines on the lottery is one thing but spending ££'s on a poker website or virtual fruit machine is a one way ticket to bankruptcy.

I know someone who ended up in prison after stealing almost £60,000 from his employer due to a gambling addiction. It destroys families and is as much of an addiction as heroin, smoking or alcoholism and can cause just as much damage, so why is it legal to advertise it?

I know that the government make £££ on the tax from it, but they do on fags too.

oddboots actually, I think the idea of a pre pay card for online gambling is a good one. If you use your current account card, you could spend all your money and not have enough left for food. If you use your credit card, you could not be able to pay it back when the statement arrives. But using a pre pay card means it's very easy to set a limit and stick to it.

I do like a bit of online poker tournaments, where you pay your entry fee, enjoy the game, and if you win it's a bonus. I also like going in real life to a casino, where I take my 'allowance' in cash and when it's gone, it's gone. I guess the pre pay card is the online equivalent.

I agree that there could be more limits set on TV adverts/sports sponsorship etc though!

YANBU

I hate them all, including the bingo ads.

Actually you can top up from debit cards in store and online. You would still top it up using your money for food.

And actually I think online you can top up your card with a credit card which in store you are unable to do because you can't bet on credit card. Somehow I think. It gets around it.

Awaits to get corrected though

I'd like to see these ads banned. They normalise gambling as an innocent pastime, recruiting money hungry "celebrities" to push their agenda.

Also, the number of womens magazines which now promote gambling is shocking.

A mumsnet campaign targeting this would be great.

that's great for you. But you really don't need to be advertised to to gamble that way do you?

You could say that about a lot of other advertising though, I don't need to be advertised to to gamble the way I do. I don't need to be advertised to to do my weekly shopping the way I do either.

My elderly Aunt goes to the local gala bingo club once a week, spends about £10 playing bingo and buys herself a meal there. For her this is the highlight of her week, without advertising she may never of gone.

What about advertising of alcohol, junk food, products that enhance your appearance and make young girls feel they need to look a certain way??? The list is endless.

Yes there is an endless list. But there's no denying there's something sinister about the timing and positioning of the adverts. If they were shown at 8.oo at night you could perhaps argue there was no agenda other than may be promoting an evening activity to enjoy after work and relax.

Instead they are all during the day followed by loans and ppi and injury lawyers. It's obvious it's aimed at unemployed desperate people

YANBU I hate all the gambling ads, the bingo ads, the borrow money now pay later (at a million %) ads and the claim for compensation ads

If I have understood advertising correctly, advertisers dont say to the television company 'put my advert in at X time'. Instead they say 'target this demographic'

This means that gambling advertisers and payday advertisers are targeting the same demographic.

giles ah, I hadn't realised you could top up online. I was thinking that it would add an extra 'inconvenience' making it harder to overspend and impossible to overspend accidentally (which I guess is still true, even with online top ups you would know when you had spent up and not lose track). So you would top up the card in store, go home and use the money online, then when it was all gone you would have to go out again to top up. Giving you extra time to think about it, and less chance to do it impulsively.

giles

I think they should have the same rules all all financial ads, pictures of people losing as well as winning.

No its actually made it easier for them gamble as you don't need a bank account and you can withdraw your winnings from online and phone in cash in the shop