Gambling isn't my thing personally, and it does nothing for me. I'm not against it per se, but what I am against is the huge explosion in its promotion in recent years/this century. And it's basically the Brits' fault too.
Tony Blair brought in huge liberalisation of the gambling rules in Britain in the late 1990s - despite the fact that no voters were asking to have more gambling, and Labour not havong mentioned it in their manifesto. It was done because his party were raking in donations from the gambling sector, and they obviously wanted pay-back for that. What has happened since is that gambling has gone from being a fringe activity that always existed but wasn't really mainstream to something that cynical marketing has presented as being 'just a bit of fun, for everyone, and a normal part of everyday life'. And as so often happens -
where the Brits led, Ireland followed.
Gambling is so in-your-face nowadays - it's literally everywhere. And unsurprisingly issues aroud problem gambling, debt, addiction, mental health etc have increased dramatically at the same time.
Again - no-one was asking for a dramatic increase in the promotion and availability of gambling. Just the industry itself. And it bought off a British government to secure it, and then the Irish government to meekly follow suit. And now we all pour money into the coffers of those companies. Many of whom are based in tax havens, so don't even have the decency to pay full taxes in-return for it either. Absolute parasites.
I'd happily go back to the old days of gambling being there for those who want to access it, but not in your face so you literally can't get through a single day of your life without some company trying to lure you into it. But hey - here's a race horse for your favourite football club, and you can help give it a funny name too ! Quick - spend all your money on it, as it's bound to be lucky
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