Why don't we have a Gambling forum in AAM?

Gambling is a scourge on society.

Some years ago I was heavily invested in horse racing betting. The fact is the industry describes itself on the legal side as an "entertainment industry" while advertising the dream that people can beat the bookie, by being strategic with "cashing out" at the right moment and other various "options" for punters!

I am barred* from most online bookmakers operating in Ireland and the UK because I bet in a profitable manner. In one case my account was down money and I was still managed out because they could see my style was going to be a profitable one. In many cases I was up only a few thousand per account.

So while I and others showing tiny profit were shut down others losing 10s or 100s of 1000s are allowed to continue betting.

It borders on criminal and what is worse is, for reasons that can only be stink, government seems to support with tax incentives and pumping money into things like greyhound racing at a scale that other more constructive non gambling linked sports can not secure,

*Barred in many cases means bets limited to 50 cents so they don't have the hassle of any legal or other issues that might come with a decision to close, also because you might still punt on sports where you are a mug like everyone else.

No gambling forum here thank you
 
presidenttttt said:
No gambling forum here thank you
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I was hoping to highlight stories like yours where if you win a few bob you are invited out, but if lose your shirt you are welcome to continue gambling.

I'd like to see that changed inline with the liquor licensing laws, where with on-premises consumption of alcohol, the onus is on the licensee to stop serving [EDIT] where the customer is intoxicated.
 
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A gambling forum would be an abomination. It’s a scourge on society and we might as well have threads on ‘sourcing the best drugs’, ‘how to have an affair’, ‘how to punch your Mrs without bruising her’, or ‘advice on the 10 best pubs for an all-day bender’. A ridiculous idea.
 
I get the distinct impression from your post that you know in advance what the content of the proposed gambling forum would be, @Gordon Gekko. If true that's an "A+" for your post's prescience.

I agree that the highly promoted gambling industry is a scourge on society, precisely the issue I hoped could be addressed in a gambling forum. It's the silent epidemic where the compulsive behaviour for the most part happens in private. You don't see problem gamblers staggering about in public intoxicated, for the most part they don't engage in violence, and you probably won't notice the physical signs associated with over-eaters, bulimics, or anorexics.

Maybe read a bit more and ask a few questions before running off with a post consisting mainly of tabloid-type headlines. Its a pity you can dismiss the idea as ridiculous out of hand, knowing so little about the proposal as evidenced by your post.
 
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I have to say that I assume that the proposal for a gambling forum would be to discuss, eh, gambling. But maybe you had something else in mind when you suggested it?

If we open a forum with a title "Gambling", I would imagine that people will start claiming that they are beating the bookies with their system and everyone should try. Or that the odds on Betfair are better than on Paddy Power.

And it would be impossible to moderate. Can you imagine the hassle moderators would get for deleting posts about gambling in a gambling forum?
 
Flybytheseat said:
Would be a bit of a gamble all right. You can't win each way. Better to stick with the horse you know.
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I'd be of the other opinion of nothing ventured nothing gained
Could a Forum not be opened and see where it goes maybe restrict access to certain types of posters or posters of a certain level??
And if it does become a "hassle" or a pain to moderate then lock it down and delete the whole thing, I know the moderators are good at that
 
Cervelo said:
Could a Forum not be opened and see where it goes maybe restrict access to certain types of posters or posters of a certain level??
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Who categorises posters into these "types" and "levels"? It sounds like a job for an expert system, but first, you've got to find experts in the types and levels to interview and build the expertise base. Who are the experts?

I know I have equated gambling with investing elsewhere, but maybe to be fair, I should have tried to reach an agreement on definitions for both.

I’ll start from the premise that both activities have varying degrees of risk attached to them and that in either case, excluding the extremes of either activity, the worst that can happen is that you lose all your stake

Gambling may be broadly defined (by me) as staking a certain amount of money, property, or other possessions in the hope of gaining higher returns on the stake based on an outcome that is random and beyond the gamblers’s control.

Is that a reasonable start at defining gambling?
 
Why not a thread for every vice or societal problem then?
 
Sure why not? Make a proposal to the mods/admins/site owner as you see fit for those societal ills that you see as destructive.

I see gambling as a huge problem hence my proposal.
 
I'm completely confused here, I thought by your OP you were looking for a forum for people to discuss gambling and the negative side of gambling and offer advise and help to those struggling in this area
And that's why I suggested some sort of restriction on the forum, to offer a blanket cover to a person who might not feel comfortable in opening up about their problems with gambling in a public forum
How that restriction would be achieved would be up to management but would probably be along the lines of what I believe Boards do when forums are of a sensitive nature

But now I see your referencing investing in the same light as gambling and though the terminology can crossover between the two subjects
and has been discussed here before at length, Investing is not gambling and should never be classed as so

So what exactly are you proposing??
 
mathepac said:
So don't call it "Gambling" maybe call it "The Dangers of Gambling", or "Is Gambling Safe?", or Is Gambling Truly For You?".
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With respect, that sounds like it might justify a thread in Letting off Steam and would not justify a forum.

So start with a discussion of the issue in Letting off Steam.
 
ClubMan said:
Well, we already have one here...
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if you read the posts in full you will see I have not advocated anyone engage in trying to beat the bookie. My posts only provide evidence that people can not beat the bookie, even if you are in the less than 1% with an edge.

Gambling in the sense of sports betting is not comparable to even high risk speculative investments, say for example Crypto - as the system is setup to ensure nobody gets a return on investment.

Sport betting providers model is designed to ensure the vast majority, probably 98% of people lose. Incredible powerful algroritms are applied in support of that objective and identifying clients likely to result in losses.

It is not a matter of fact that other investments are designed to ensure the investor loses. Even crypto, which gets accusations of being a ponzi scheme, has to date not showed evidence of such, and is not a zero sum game. In theory, every single investor today can get a return - that is not true for sport betting done via bookmakers. Hence it makes sense Cryto could be discussed on an investment forum and sports betting should not be.
 
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presidenttttt said:
Even crypto, which gets accusations of being a ponzi scheme, has to date not showed evidence of such, and is not a zero sum game.
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Correct. it is a massive negative sum game. It generates nothing and the transaction fees and energy used to produce it are a huge cost.
presidenttttt said:
Hence it makes sense Cryto could be discussed on an investment forum and sports betting should not be.
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Not sure about other investment forums. Crypto is not investment - it's gambling on steroids. We allow it on askaboutmoney because it is widely and wrongly regarded by people as an investment and to alert them to the inevitable losses that will result.
 
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