Financial counsellors say live online gambling is "frightening future of gambling"

[Casinorep]

"Financial counsellors say live online gambling is the "frightening future of gambling" and are calling on the Government to rein in the big sports betting agencies who are using dubious practices to lure in and then bankrupt punters." Full article here

[TheGooner]

Australian piece with stories that strain credulity. Very much the "scare" expose.

One man is supposed to have sold his house and then lost the money (150K) in four football bets.
His mum said :

She contacted a manager at Sportsbet, the agency her son was using.

"I told him what my son had done, how he'd lost all this money on Sportsbet, and it was wicked of them to take huge amounts of money off anybody and they lose it all in one go and its crazy," she said.

"Who does that? What government allows people to lose all that money?"

And these are stories with licensed and regulated sports sites in Australia.
I see no sign that online casino or pokies will be coming to Australia soon.

They are getting hot about joining offers too.
I'd expect to see affiliate com.au sites targetting Australian players and listing offshore options to be a potential target.

[TravG]

"Who does that? What government allows people to lose all that money?"

Man what ever happened to people taking responsibility for their own actions? Why do you need a government to stop you from being stupid? Its to bad stories like that get press but the thousands of people who enjoy placing bets responsibly do not have a voice and suffer because a few people cant control themselves.

[Miles_FTA]

I'm Agree with you Travis People should be allowed to do whatever they want with their hard earned $ and should have enough self control to know when to stop it should be a government telling us to. Also as an adult they should be able to take responsibility and realize that it can cause damage to family life etc and seek help if it is an issue . Any addiction is tough but get help if its an issue

[DanHorvat]

People also lose money on the stock market and lose money in business. The common denominator is greed and a desire to get rich - by risking the money you have now in order to get more money later.

All of the above need to be regulated in order to prevent scams and lies.

That's it.

[JackTenSuited]

Man what ever happened to people taking responsibility for their own actions? Why do you need a government to stop you from being stupid? Its to bad stories like that get press but the thousands of people who enjoy placing bets responsibly do not have a voice and suffer because a few people cant control themselves.

We don't blame alcohol manufacturers for alcoholics so I don't understand why people are so quick to blame betting companies for taking bets.

[mojo]

Age old argument. Everything said has been said before.

[sweetbet]

People also lose money on the stock market and lose money in business. The common denominator is greed and a desire to get rich - by risking the money you have now in order to get more money later.

All of the above need to be regulated in order to prevent scams and lies.

That's it.

I totally agree. Besides, no one ever complains when they win.

[hotfreebingo]

Everything should be done responsibly.

[Miles_FTA]

One of our land based casinos in South Africa has the tag line " Winners know when to stop"