Gambling is addictive and exploitative. A lot of effort goes into keeping players engaged, exploiting the pleasure response centers of the brain. It’s not just refined folk betting on horses, but gacha games, loot boxes, slot machines, prediction markets. Gritty and sleazy.
If your lucked out with your genes just be happy, and don’t call people with a high risk of addiction inadequate idiots.
“Exploiting the pleasure response centres of the brain” is pseudo-scientific twaddle for “a lot of effort goes into making it fun”.
Yes, yes it does. That’s a good thing.
And I didn’t “luck out” with my genes. They’re perfectly in line with the vast majority of people. That some people are cursed with inadequate faculties is a reason they should be protected (through regulation), not a reason for normal people to have their freedom curtailed.
We don’t ban movies because some people are blind.
Okay but the argument isn’t that gambling is bad. It’s that gambling ads and apps are. A gambling addict who gambles at a casino has to physically go to the casino and can only gamble as long as their body will allow them. Sure they can ruin their lives but there are physical unavoidable things that limit their gambling. To say nothing about the responsibility we’ve decided casinos have to address gambling addiction. A casino can kick a player out, sure they can go to another but that’s time they don’t spend gambling.
Gambling ads and apps are everywhere. They’re inescapable. An addict doesn’t have to physically go to a casino anymore. They can gamble wherever, whenever, on anything. If they try to pull themselves away the apps use push notifications to pull them in. Uninstall the apps, the ads are running everywhere all the time. Get banned, just make a new account. It takes minutes. The availability to gamble is just constant now.
If nothing else, ban gambling ads. It won’t stop people but it’ll let them escape the constant push to get back in.
I mean, an argument whose answer is “make all gambling” illegal - which is what we’re talking about here - clearly is founded on “all gambling is bad”.
Personally I’d agree with you about heavily curtailing, or even banning, advertising and sponsorship. And putting in place restrictions on amount wagered, loss limits, mandatory self exclusion registers etc. But all that is regulation, not an outright ban. (I’m not even particularly against a state monopoly tbh.)
Gambling is addictive and exploitative. A lot of effort goes into keeping players engaged, exploiting the pleasure response centers of the brain. It’s not just refined folk betting on horses, but gacha games, loot boxes, slot machines, prediction markets. Gritty and sleazy.
If your lucked out with your genes just be happy, and don’t call people with a high risk of addiction inadequate idiots.
“Exploiting the pleasure response centres of the brain” is pseudo-scientific twaddle for “a lot of effort goes into making it fun”.
Yes, yes it does. That’s a good thing.
And I didn’t “luck out” with my genes. They’re perfectly in line with the vast majority of people. That some people are cursed with inadequate faculties is a reason they should be protected (through regulation), not a reason for normal people to have their freedom curtailed.
We don’t ban movies because some people are blind.
Woah ya’ll chill. I’m pretty sure it’s a widely studied topic that gambling (winning a bunch of money) and cocaine cause the same parts of the brain to fire.
Blind people listening to a movie doesn’t destroy their life the way gambling does. Get your head out of the sand.
Okay but the argument isn’t that gambling is bad. It’s that gambling ads and apps are. A gambling addict who gambles at a casino has to physically go to the casino and can only gamble as long as their body will allow them. Sure they can ruin their lives but there are physical unavoidable things that limit their gambling. To say nothing about the responsibility we’ve decided casinos have to address gambling addiction. A casino can kick a player out, sure they can go to another but that’s time they don’t spend gambling.
Gambling ads and apps are everywhere. They’re inescapable. An addict doesn’t have to physically go to a casino anymore. They can gamble wherever, whenever, on anything. If they try to pull themselves away the apps use push notifications to pull them in. Uninstall the apps, the ads are running everywhere all the time. Get banned, just make a new account. It takes minutes. The availability to gamble is just constant now.
If nothing else, ban gambling ads. It won’t stop people but it’ll let them escape the constant push to get back in.
I mean, an argument whose answer is “make all gambling” illegal - which is what we’re talking about here - clearly is founded on “all gambling is bad”.
Personally I’d agree with you about heavily curtailing, or even banning, advertising and sponsorship. And putting in place restrictions on amount wagered, loss limits, mandatory self exclusion registers etc. But all that is regulation, not an outright ban. (I’m not even particularly against a state monopoly tbh.)