Should online casinos be allowed to advertise?

ColeTrain

I've been watching a lot of TV today and have noticed that there are lots of adverts on for Casino/Bingo websites. There seems to be a new one popping every time a show takes a break.

The question I have is should they be allowed to advertise freely or should they be regulated like the alcohol industry or outright banned like the tobacco industry?

In my opinion they should definitely be regulated. From experience I have lost a couple of hundred playing roulette in the past and would never go near them now because quite simply the house has the edge and will not be beaten in the long term. Many people are losing big money on these sites and this affects not only them but their partners/kids etc. Most of the adverts have humour and seem to market their product as great fun but I'm sure as I type this someone has just thrown away their savings, I doubt the poor soul will be happy to see the next ad on the box.

galwayrush

Fools are easily parted from their money.

ColeTrain

galwayrush wrote: »

Fools are easily parted from their money.

It's an addictive experience.
Say for example you opt to take one of their free bonuses and manage to turn your free fiver into 60 quid. You could easily blow the 60 and decide your luck will change, only to keep chasing your previous winnings and then before it you're out big money.

You'd feel like the biggest fool afterwards but gambling is a serious addiction. It's also very easy to deposit money, a few clicks of your mouse and you could lose your weeks wages sitting in your own living room.

kneemos

galwayrush wrote: »

Fools are easily parted from their money.

All the more reason for regulation.

galwayrush

kneemos wrote: »

All the more reason for regulation.

How do we regulate foreign sites, state censorship?

shruikan2553

I wouldnt mind the ads being banned but thats because I find them annoying, if people wish to gamble then so be it. If someone decides to lose everything then the person who is interested in gambling responsibly shouldnt have a hard time trying to find somewhere to do so because of it

kneemos

galwayrush wrote: »

How do we regulate foreign sites, state censorship?

Tobacco advertising been banned practicly worldwide.

Defiler Of The Coffin

galwayrush wrote: »

How do we regulate foreign sites, state censorship?

This thread isn't about blocking access to foreign gambling sites, more about the advertising of said sites on local TV which can and probably should be heavily regulated. It would be interesting to know what kind of profits these companies are making given that a lot of vulnerable people lose a lot of money on these sites

Biggins

When you take the physical feeling of losing money out of the hands of the people that are gambling it, I feel its much even easier to lose ones money quicker.

I say the above because I think that "Yes", they should be outright regulated at least.

nocoverart

ColeTrain wrote: »

It's an addictive experience.
Say for example you opt to take one of their free bonuses and manage to turn your free fiver into 60 quid. You could easily blow the 60 and decide your luck will change, only to keep chasing your previous winnings and then before it you're out big money.

You'd feel like the biggest fool afterwards but gambling is a serious addiction. It's also very easy to deposit money, a few clicks of your mouse and you could lose your weeks wages sitting in your own living room.

Very true! I'm not a big gambler but there is this one game I would play occasionally on Paddy Power. I wouldn't deposit much more than a tenner. But I once won over a 100 euro on it before and just blew the lot. I think it's the fact that it doesn't feel like "real" money and then it's a temptation to deposit more money just to break even. Oops! I'm advertising the website LOL.

Wacker The Attacker

Gambling is great.

A nice bit of an aul bet is great