UFGN wrote:It's an excellent decision.
I found myself quite hooked on these a few years ago and lost quite a lot of money. Luckily I realised what was happening and I was able to snap out of it before any serious damage was done.
It's right what is said about those machines. They are highly addictive. There's a big difference between them and other types of gambling because of how regularly you can bet. Every 20 seconds you can have another bet, it's like a drug.
Compare that with what I would call safe and healthy gambling like a football accumulator that is one bet and lasts all weekend.
This will cost bookies branches and a lot of money. Good. They're not positive places and there are so many more on the high street than we need or want.
It will cost some jobs, but it's not like it'll be thousands of jobs in one area, the affected people will be evenly spread over the country and should be able to get similar or better jobs elsewhere.
Glad you got off it.
My local Williiam Hill has five of these machines. When I go in there, most of them are occupied, and there's only one or two people doing other things like dogs or horses.
I've been going in betting shops for 35 years or more. The culture in them has completely changed as a result of these machines. And online betting I suppose. I do my footie bet online as you get better odds, and the chance to cash out.
I reckon my local shop would close. It'd be a shame, but I'd rather that than see these machines continue unchecked.