Hello everyone, I’m Ben Thacker (aka
Westwood) the founder of Neuroliberation campaign which is currently
campaigning against the rapid expansion of the gambling industry since the
gambling act 2005. I am currently petitioning to get betting shops removed from
town centres, high streets and other places where children, young people and
families are likely to be. Please sign the petition at >
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/36386
Since the Gambling act 2005, betting shops
have been able to open on any high street they want, with no need to apply for
planning permission. Since then, you’re never ever really far from a Coral,
William Hill, Ladbrokes or another brand of betting shop.It might be important
to state that the reason the act was passed was because of the politicians
involved had links themselves with the gambling industry, but that’s another story
which you can find more about on my Neuroliberation film
at http://neuroliberation.blogspot.co.uk/
Gambling and betting shops have always been
known to be a bit of a social stigma with its many damaging stories of people
throwing their lives away on the horses, but in its many new forms gambling has
become faster paced, and a lot more accessible. Betting shops weren’t allowed
to advertise on the outside of their shops prior to 2005 , now gambling
advertising is everywhere , even sometimes when you click a webpage. There are
even television channels dedicated to various forms of gambling.
The gambling industry companies claim that
only 1-3% of gamblers are problem gamblers, but this is strongly disagreed by
both ex-gambling addicts such as myself and many betting shop workers around
the country , the very people that know what betting shops are often like
inside which is a very different story. The industry thrives from gambling
addiction.
Since the introduction of fixed odds
betting terminals, which hosts games including electronic roulette , a lot of
people have been addicted to this new fast paced form of gambling. You only
need to spend an hour or so researching them on the internet to see how
dangerous they have become, they have been dubbed the ‘Crack Cocaine of
gambling’.
This is because once someone has had a big
win (I won £500 from starting with £4) they get such a rush of dopamine that
their brain becomes extremely dependant on it, like most addictions it tricks
the brain into thinking this is a genuine act that will help us evolve, because
dopamine’s purpose is to act as a ‘driver’ for us to get to the ‘reward’. These
are neurological activities that it is hard for any person to control whatever
their state of mind or social status.
The problem with this is that researchers
and professors that have studied the effects of dopamine on the brain have
found that excessive over-production of dopamine flooding the frontal lobe area
of the brain is linked with schizophrenia, mania, Bi-polar, attention deficit
disorders and many other mental health effects also including depression, loss
of humour, rage and anxiety.It’s not uncommon to see people spitting, punching
and swearing at machines in a betting shop these days, people are literally
allowed to lose everything they have in a matter of minutes, with no
intervention whatsoever from betting shop staff.
During my year or so campaigning I have
never heard once of any betting shop staff voluntarily stopping a person
gambling that has lost control. I have personally felt the effects of this
myself and have seen that it is happening to many other people, betting shops
are now open from morning until night often advertising things like “play for
free and win money”.
Unfortunately a lot of people look at the
situation only from an addicted gamblers point of view , often overlooking that
it has huge impacts on not only their families, but on the rest of the
community.How much more strain do we need on mental health services, social
services and the police at a time when those very services are been cut? And do
we really have to wonder if we really want to go to that local shop because
it’s next to a betting shop with people that come out in a negative mental
state.How much damage, disruption and crime do betting shops bring to the rest
of the community? How much damaged property? How many more muggings and
robberies? How many more neglected or abused children?
We don’t need even more broken characters
walking around, it’s not good for neither themselves or anyone else. Mp’s that
have links to the gambling industry are pushing for even more liberalisation of
gambling , and are calling for up to 12 machines in any one betting shop
(currently the maximum permitted is 4). A lot of lives, minds, families and
communities are going to get effected by this is we don’t make a stand now, if
people want to gamble they can know the risk and do it in a place that isn’t
our town centres. It’s becoming quite unsafe, grim and unfriendly.
Please sign my petition to get betting
shops removed from town centres, high streets and places that families and young
people are likely to be by signing my petition at –
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/36386
and for more information on what im doing
check out my blog at http://neuroliberation.blogspot.co.uk/
Thanks for reading!! Benp.s. If you support
what I’m doing then please tell your friends, family, colleagues and internet
contacts about the campaign and get them to sign the petition. Thank you
