Gambling

This is a strange one. I am not against gambling per se. If there’s a raffle for a good cause, I will buy a ticket. I even won a stick blender recently. It is in the kitchen drawer, in its box as I already have one. I do take part in the post code lottery and Mr Whinge does get a weekly lottery ticket. What gets to me is the vast number of online gambling facilities. Once upon a time, if you wanted to gamble money away, you had to go into town to the nearest ‘turf accountant’ or similar, or to the local Bingo Hall. Now you have it at your fingertips – on your phone, laptop and TV. There’s nothing more dangerous than the combination of times of austerity and ease of gambling. The adverts for these companies make it colourful, fun, sexy even. I worry that many people turn to it on the off-chance of ‘get-rich-quick’ and in the process squander money that could have bought a nourishing meal. Even worse, many football clubs are happily accepting sponsorship from these companies so that our young people are being drip-fed the message that it’s OK.

Many children, when asked what they will do with their lives, reply that they won’t need a job as they will win the Lottery. Well, kids, you stand more chance of being hit by a piece of space debris apparently. Don’t be fooled by these companies. They are the only people getting rich quick, believe Ava.