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Paul Merson: Football, Gambling and Me

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EFCPaul said:
It was sad hearing him on the radio a few weeks ago saying at times it's gotten so bad he's actually wished to break his fingers just to stop him using betting apps.

That said I can't help but feel he used his addiction problems to get sympathy for himself at times. There's that famous story of when he was at Portsmouth under Redknapp, he went in to Harry's office to ask if he could go spend a week up with Sporting Chance because he was spiraling. Because it was a cup week and they didn't have a game Redknapp let him go, only to get a phone call a few days later from a friend who owned a bar out in Tenerife. Told him he'd just served Merson and his missus drinks and now they were sat on the beach sunbathing. What a horrible lie to tell someone all because you want an impromptu holiday.

Wish him well but my sympathy is limited.
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Tony Adam’s was about at Pompey at that time as well btw.
 
I mean for me, it’s something I’ve said for years and it’s truly terrifying.

I had a bet today, cost me £5, and I would have won £50 had it won, it never.

But I feel there are two types of gambling addicts desperate people and people addicted to the thrill.
For me, real solution is limited max bets, limit winnings. If you stop people chasing losses, and chasing the impossible, you’d stop desperate people and you’d stop large sums being spent.

It will never ever happen, but if you put a cap at say £20 on a bet and a maximum of say £1000, you’d stop the extravagance.

But like this was happening for years and you’ve got to feel for Merson, he’s had his wins and there’s no thrill like a big win.

They have to do more simply, ban advertising of gambling, but will it really matter when you can literally place a bet in 30 seconds nowadays?
 

barneygumble said:
But I feel there are two types of gambling addicts desperate people and people addicted to the thrill.
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Nah that’s over simplifying it for me. Can be tonnes of reasons and there’s lots of different kinds of gambling.
When I was younger I used to love playing the puggies in boozers. It was about just zoning out and not caring about anything, not having to speak to people. Wasn’t even that arsed when I won.
 
Feel for anyone addicted to gambling but the bookies do all they can realistically - you can limit deposits online, self exclude from shops etc.

Anything further and you basically limit the 95% with no problems from having a bet.

We don't put limits on how much ale you can buy on the weekend or how many bars you can visit because sadly some people are alcoholics / cant handle their drink and after the last 18 months im vastly against restricting peoples freedoms/right to choose within reason after lockdowns and restrictions on everything enjoyable in life.

It's an awful addiction though the main thing is seeking help with it and acknowledging you have a problem.
 
I won’t judge anyone afflicted by addiction… I’ve seen millionaires and mingers both in the grips of despair .. both levelled by the fact that due to addiction they are both battling the same demons …. Money can’t buy you out.
 
ForeverBlue92 said:
Feel for anyone addicted to gambling but the bookies do all they can realistically - you can limit deposits online, self exclude from shops etc.

Anything further and you basically limit the 95% with no problems from having a bet.

We don't put limits on how much ale you can buy on the weekend or how many bars you can visit because sadly some people are alcoholics / cant handle their drink and after the last 18 months im vastly against restricting peoples freedoms/right to choose within reason after lockdowns and restrictions on everything enjoyable in life.

It's an awful addiction though the main thing is seeking help with it and acknowledging you have a problem.
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See this is where I disagree.

The only reason I do, is because you can tell if someone is an alcoholic, or on the path to alcoholism, their appearance begins to change.

Gambling addiction, especially since the emergence of apps, is so easily hidden. Would you know if a person sat next to you in the pub/train/match had just spent £5k on a bet, if they hadn't told you? But would you be able to notice an alcoholic sat next to you? Probably, because there would be a few things you'd notice.

I think bookmakers have introduced the limits purely as a buffer between themselves and a lawsuit. It's a perfect way to deflect blame and make it about the customer. This is why it should be a mandatory fixed limit over a period of time (day, week, month or year), in my opinion, because it still allows people to do the things they enjoy as you said, but within reason.

There must be thousands of unnoticed gambling addicts in this country, but how would you ever know?
 
barneygumble said:
See this is where I disagree.

The only reason I do, is because you can tell if someone is an alcoholic, or on the path to alcoholism, their appearance begins to change.

Gambling addiction, especially since the emergence of apps, is so easily hidden. Would you know if a person sat next to you in the pub/train/match had just spent £5k on a bet, if they hadn't told you? But would you be able to notice an alcoholic sat next to you? Probably, because there would be a few things you'd notice.

I think bookmakers have introduced the limits purely as a buffer between themselves and a lawsuit. It's a perfect way to deflect blame and make it about the customer. This is why it should be a mandatory fixed limit over a period of time (day, week, month or year), in my opinion, because it still allows people to do the things they enjoy as you said, but within reason.

There must be thousands of unnoticed gambling addicts in this country, but how would you ever know?
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I think the problem is mate is there will always be vices and you can never really stop some people falling off the wagon - if you shut bookies down they'll just go underground, to a casino, onto an online foreign betting site etc.

My mates brother is a regional manager at Betfred and when they capped the FOBT routlette stakes hundreds of shops across the country shut down on the back of it with mainly working class and part time staff who relied on a steady wage comimg in put on the dole for what ultimately?

I always say the argument against gambling is becauase many people dont really love gambling - if the same people who for example like drink at the weekend for example were told "no more than a 6 pack a weekend at home to cut domestic abuse" or "hundreds of bars/pubs forced to close to cut the number of people drinking alcohol to prevent alcoholism" there would be uproar but because its gambling people are happy for that to be restricted same as smoking weed whereas people are happy to smoke ciggys!

Im not a big drinker and I dont drink at all at home but I do like betting but regardless I wouldn't want people not to be able to drink/go a pub just because some people cant control how much alcohol they take/abuse.
 

ForeverBlue92 said:
I think the problem is mate is there will always be vices and you can never really stop some people falling off the wagon - if you shut bookies down they'll just go underground, to a casino, onto an online foreign betting site etc.

My mates brother is a regional manager at Betfred and when they capped the FOBT routlette stakes hundreds of shops across the country shut down on the back of it with mainly working class and part time staff who relied on a steady wage comimg in put on the dole for what ultimately?

I always say the argument against gambling is becauase many people dont really love gambling - if the same people who prefer drinking for example were told "no more than a 6 pack a weekend at home to cut domestic abuse" or "hundreds of bars/pubs forced to close to cut the number of people drinking alcohol to prevent alcoholism" there would be uproar but because its gambling people are happy for that to be restricted same as smoking weed whereas people are happy to smoke ciggys!

Im not a big drinker and I dont drink at all at home but I do like betting but regardless I wouldn't want people not to be able to drink/go a pub just because some people cant control how much alcohol they take/abuse.
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Oh I agree. You make a good point, and I understand the disappointment that people lost jobs, but it's just a silent thing which is getting worse and worse and will continue to do so, as long as it's glamourised.

I like a bet, I like a drink when I go out. I'm not an addict, so seeing a SkyBet advert on every break, or a JD advert might not affect me, but for thousands it will. If you're a person who's recovering like Merson, or someone whos on a slippery slope, its going to be massively detrimental to them.

For me, the reasoning for placing a cap, is because you still get your thrill of winning, can still bet (it's not a closed shop) but stops people just throwing it away. In a day and age where people are seeing people living these fake, unrealistic lives, its what people want and causes stupid things. I know you or I aren't going to do anything stupid, but I've seen the impacts on gambling addiction and alcoholism, and I just don't enjoy the glamour.

If they can curb it, and reduce it, then I've not issue, with increasing what you can bet, but when you're seeing young lads throwing £75 on random bets, honestly kills me.

Rant over :lol:
 

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