Betting??

Endurance Man

What is the obssesion with betting in this country?? I have never seen so many betting shops in such a small area as i have in my town, and they are always full. And the fact that it starts from such a young age is a bad sign. When i did go to school here i noticed at lunch break a large number of boys would run down to the various shops and sit in there for the entire lunch :eek: . People are just throwing money away, why is it so popular?
Now i have gambled a bit before and it is fun, but these people all seem addicted, and it is everywhere u go in ireland

grimloch

I was fairly shocked by the amount of betting shops down the country, a small town in Connemmara has 2 or 3 I think, and they're not empty either.

I suppose it's something to do. I wouldn't go in for it myself.

skywalker

Never saw the attraction myself, the lotto is as close to gambling as I get, I think I did the grand national once.

comad

It's all about the buzz. 90% of gambler deep down know that they aren't going to make a fortune of gambling but the non financial awards are amazing. When you're in the shop or at the track, watching your horse or dog, cheering it on, the losing, the winning, your horse falling, your dog getting knocked, getting beaten by a short head, winning by 10 lenghts. The price you pay for that fun is up to you. €1 on a horse or €10,000, its up to you

If you spend a day at any big horse racing meeting. ie Galway, the Irish Derby etc or even one race at Shelbourne Park it'll all become clear to you.

grimloch

comad wrote:

It's all about the buzz. 90% of gambler deep down know that they aren't going to make a fortune of gambling but the non financial awards are amazing. When you're in the shop or at the track, watching your horse or dog, cheering it on, the losing, the winning, your horse falling, your dog getting knocked, getting beaten by a short head, winning by 10 lenghts. The price you pay for that fun is up to you. €1 on a horse or €10,000, its up to you

If you spend a day at any big horse racing meeting. ie Galway, the Irish Derby etc or even one race at Shelbourne Park it'll all become clear to you.

I go to the races most years, didn't go last year. I must admit it was fun but more so of a novelty than actually something I'd more than once a year.

Scraggs

within a 300yrds of my house there are 9 pubs and 5 betting offices all doing a roaring trade...some serious addictions in my area!!

KnowItAll

Betting is a good pastime for people who are not addicted. The betting shops give people something to do which can be enjoyable. Like alcohol there are people who are addicted but it's a small minority.

Endurance Man

Small majority :rolleyes: . Sure it is, that is why i have 4 betting places in my town. Ireland has these things on every corner, they are as common as pubs. All these betting places would not be able to sruvive the competition if it was a small majority :rolleyes:
This is off topic but i HATE horse/dog racing, sickens me to my stomach, leave the poor animals alone .

seamus

You'll find a staggering amount of pubs and betting shops beside eachother, and owned by the same people. Why? Well, you tend to find people with addictive personalities hanging around the betting shop, who also like their drink. When they get a good win, it's next door into the pub for a few, until they've 10 or 20 quid left, so they go back into the betting shop to get some more cash, and so on. The money doesn't leave the premises.

comad

I worked for a major bookie chain and its not a coincidence that their premises are next door to pubs. they even get approached by pub owners who would tell that the shop next door is for sale etc. Could be worse. in Australia, most of the betting shops are IN the pubs

petes

As Seamus said most betting shops place themselves beside pubs. People will go in for a couple of pints, then start going next door, placing a bet and then coming back in to watch it in the pub. I myself think its harmless. My dad places bets but only once a week on a Saturday and not more than 20 quid. He has the right idea. I am crap at it so therefore dont partake.

daywalker

sure its the same with the lotto or scratch cards you buy your lotto each week, maybe win a small amount which immediatly goes back to national lottery wasting away maybe €10 a week, €520 a year, in the hopes that you get the big one, not even thinking of the odds, then people go lotto crazy when there is a big jackpot, euromillions case in point, the amount of people buying euromillions tickets has jumped a lot, due to delores mcnamara's big win. And look at scratch cards has anyone ever won €25000 instantly?

2Tagz

Oz is on a different scale in terms of gambling from what I experienced; over there you've got bookies (TABS) in every shopping arcade, masses and I mean masses of poker machines in every pub as well as the usual constant pony and trap racing on pub tv's plus several huge casino's in the cities. There's a lot of people with gambling problems over there but maybe it's just that it's more out in the open than over here. The lottery could be seen as a poverty tax, people who can least afford to do it spend proportionately more of their income on the thing. Sure Dolores O'Connor would disagree though..

2Tagz

..or even Dolores McNamara for that matter..

oq4v3ht0u76kf2

Watch Man About Dog... if you don't understand then, you never will.

skywalker

comad wrote:

It's all about the buzz. 90% of gambler deep down know that they aren't going to make a fortune of gambling but the non financial awards are amazing. When you're in the shop or at the track, watching your horse or dog, cheering it on, the losing, the winning, your horse falling, your dog getting knocked, getting beaten by a short head, winning by 10 lenghts. The price you pay for that fun is up to you. €1 on a horse or €10,000, its up to you

If you spend a day at any big horse racing meeting. ie Galway, the Irish Derby etc or even one race at Shelbourne Park it'll all become clear to you.

Why do you need to bet at all if its all about the experience?

seamus

skywalker wrote:

Why do you need to bet at all if its all about the experience?

The experience isn't the same if you don't have anything to support, i.e. you don't have anything to lose. I'm not a football supporter, but any football supporter will tell you that there's a massive difference between watching an exciting match, and watching an exciting match that your team are playing.

skywalker

True enough, I suppose.

ANDREWMUFC

Lol

Snotty

Horse racing and dog racing are completely crooket sports, most of the betting is done with some inside knowledge and anyone else betting is just a compete mug.

Roger Hassenforder

€4 says this is the oldest zombie thread

Guy:Incognito

Roger Hassenforder wrote: »

€4 says this is the oldest zombie thread

And not even a decent post to drag it up with

harry Bailey esq

Roger Hassenforder wrote: »

€4 says this is the oldest zombie thread

I'm familiar with your posts Herr Hassendorfer and finding a better employer of subtle wit than your good self would be a hard task indeed. But a bookmaker you'll never be.

Kimbot

MOD Closing this, its a zombie from 2005, if you want to start a new thread feel free to do so.