'If I had the same problem now... I would probably be dead' | Can You Beat The Bookies?

Watch the full programme on the BBC Three iPlayer page here: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode...
Comedian John Robins opens up on the dangers surrounding problem gambling and why it might be easier to get sucked in today.
For more information about the issues raised: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/arti...
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[@MattJames1958]

Fair play to John for being so open about his addiction

[@mightybison15]

My respect evaporates for any celebrity that promotes and appears on adverts for gambling.

[@user-to2pf8rb5m]

Gambling is lethal, the speed you can do large amounts of money is crazy, a drug addict couldn’t do £2,000 on drugs and do them in 5 minutes, you can loose any amount of money you have access to in a matter of seconds.

[@rickykuijpers3179]

Betting is a disease, and in my opinion the legal betting age should be increased to help youngsters not to become addicted.

[@hippopotamus86]

When I used to bet at 18, there were no checks of your age when you signed up and deposited money. They make you prove your age when you withdraw. That's sickening.

[@D_Thang]

When you are underage and lose it isn't a problem, as soon as you win and verify your age it becomes a problem. Casinos are parasites.

[@kellyhunt3958]

Gambling, my 19 y/o son blew £32,000 (in hard cash he had earned and saved since his early teens) over 6 months in 2018. Not being a gambler myself i never saw the signs, more needs to be done to curb this culture. My son had to hit rock bottom before he broke down and told us just how bad things had got. Now a year on he is back on track and is clean from gambling.

[@Flowerlifts111]

Wonderful news ... Atleast you have your son back

[@pboora123]

Thank you for sharing your story Kelly. I’m glad to hear he’s on the road to recovery.

[@XYZ-gm2xo]

@@arrdeecheekychappy7841 you're a muppet robby

[@bbb2798]

Good luck to him!

[@cheesball96]

I’m happy to read that he’s doing okay. I hope it stays that way. He has so much courage for speaking up and getting help. Not as easy as it seems. God bless

[@Anonymouse85]

I wish they'd do something about the huge amount of betting ads all over the globe, it's insane how much there is still considering how a) addictive and b) destructive it is.

[@zephergaming4437]

Gambling is normalised through micro transactions and advertising, Gambling companies should not be able to advertise before watershed, and in sponsored ads they should warn people of the perils of gambling.

[@pieholekid]

Shouldn't be able to advertise at all in my opinon, tobacco companies aren't allowed. Why not gambling, both cause many issues and are extremely addictive?

[@zephergaming4437]

Dominic Brett you are 100% right bro

[@TheBassHeavy]

@@pieholekid Bang on!

[@jamesalexander4203]

Dear John, Ive got one word for you - Renfrewshire - oh, and the fact that your candour and humour helps so many !

[@ahmedzitouni8287]

I will like to see more documentary like this on TV

[@jamesluby6705]

I understand John completely, if I had access 30 years ago to all the gambling sites there are now, I would be deep in debt, alone of course, or dead...

[@tomgrogan3293]

Worst part is as soon as you start winning the bookies ban you if not limit your bets so low that there’s no point any more

[@urbanjag123]

Football accas- shop roulette- casino with the lads- casino Tuesday afternoon then anything is a bet

[@teonferguson3669]

I have an addict gambling friend don’t know how to help him though he won’t stop untill he wins back his loses which makes no sense to me

[@johnnydtractive]

Dang, that's another way of saying he won't stop until he loses everything.

[@bornyesterday8976]

You leave them to destroy their own lives before they destroy yours. Only a matter of time before they start robbing off you.

[@emilian-gabrielcojan3166]

Block him from every betting shop and convince him to go to therapy. Is bloody hard for him but if he doesn't stop he will be fucked

[@shaunyb2011]

yep it can get dangerous when you gamble and end up losing too much you can often find yourself in a constant cycle of chasing money that is how it is over the long run for most gamblers you may win a few bets but in the end the house always wins..

[@Biggieduets37]

Emilian-Gabriel Cojan I’m really glad your not my friend tbh

[@local8457]

as someone who struggles with substance addiction, it’s really hard for me to understand gambling addiction. but i guess you can get addicted to anything.

[@aid-96]

It gives you a similar stimulus that you grow to depend on.

[@shaunyb2011]

win big once and you'll understand the rush that comes from it!

[@Markuz07]

As an addict to both - they go hand in hand for me. Substances will help you numb your losses temporarily. Rinse and repeat.

[@alexhamer8787]

The simplest way of explaining why bookies always make money is as follows: when you flip a coin, there is a 50% chance of tails and a 50% chance of heads. So the odds should be 1/1 for both. But if you took these bets at the bookies, the odds would be something like 5/6 for each. Meaning if you bet £6 you would only get £11. In the short term you may win money. But in the long term you will ALWAYS ALWAYS lose money

[@fender1000100]

No you will only lose longterm. If you don't have a winning strategy and no patience. This bookie tax only works if you lose more than you win. I have had 7 winning years in a row on UK greyhounds.

[@Holtecitizen]

5 sol for 20 quid in the pub ain’t that bad

[@Gblonkers]

You funny guy

[@ellisd20]

£4 per bottle? I'm not so sure mate.

[@manoharman4425]

I at 24 ,addicted to betting ,went to debt into almost 1000 dollars ,but I hoping to come outside the betting , seriously I am too confident that I will earn my money ,it is just same as stock markets , taking advantage of large capital ,it is nothing to be in profits

[@nohandle508]

I hope you're OK

[@36nibs]

Little did bro kno he’d be on taskmaster 17 😂

[@swine13]

What i find awful is how all the poker machines have those obnoxious jingles that sit in your head all day. If you had a problem with gambling, they would be reminding you about it several times an hour. Its sick... as if they want it to mimic narcotic addiction.

[@bornyesterday8976]

You have a problem

[@bornyesterday8976]

@@swine13 i was happy long before you popped along, and will be long after. If you dont like notifications......dont post. Nah you're problem is playing machines that much you even imagine whatever melodies they play.......thats bad....you need help. Think i might just ting you every 2 minutes just to add to your problem.....but then i wont be able to see you to laugh so be pointless

[@bornyesterday8976]

@@swine13 😴😴😴

[@bornyesterday8976]

@@swine13 💩🥅 (shit post loĺ,you get it)

[@bornyesterday8976]

@@swine13 🎮

[@abhibhai003]

Gambling addiction and scam are destroying families like coke and meth heroine can't do. It's more dangerous. I'm a victim . Ask me how much loss means

[@Dogstho]

Same as me !!! I have lost over 200k in 6 and half years All on slots machines . They should have been baned

[@mickharrison9004]

No wonder bookies football adds on all over the place, and use top ex footballers to draw people in, 99 percent of coupons are down, it's just a pure bookies benefit since footballs got more random and most teams on any given day can get a result against anyone.

[@mrbowie5408]

nothing about fifa and the gambling they encourage in the video games that are aged 3+. Laws need to change for the online world

[@justinvardy2652]

Even if you win a small amount they won't take your bets

[@Josh_J9]

Your comment makes no sense

[@scottchegg828]

@@Josh_J9 It does.

[@John-ed4yw]

@@Josh_J9 what he's saying is, if you avoid making what I'd call a 'mug bet' and start betting smartly, even on or for a small amount of money and you win it, they will pick you up algorithmically and ban you

[@johnny2hats330]

Can you beat the bookies? Short answer is yes, sure, if you get lucky. That's the nature of gambling. Can you use a betting system that will let you consistently make money? Yes, open a bookmakers shop. I'll leave two tips: 1) Gambling should only ever be done for fun. If you're not having fun then stop, because you're wasting you time! 2) The academy awards are usually super predictable, if you're into film.

[@plstrom]

and the most surreal of it all is that IF and it is a big IF , but if you are a profitable gambler they are allowed to cut you !! HOW CAN THAT BE LEGAL ! so they accept you having an account IF YOU LOSE, as soon as you start making money from them they will block you !! UNBELIEVABLE that this business model is allowed !!!!!!!!

[@xussbruzz1494]

Go seek help if you gambling how sooner how better how longer you wait how biger the losses are and don't gambling any more its not fun if you later try to win back it will be worst next time !

[@2gointruth]

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where it grows rusty and moth-eaten, and thieves will break in to steal it. Store up treasure in heaven, where there is no moth and no rust to spoil it, no thieves to break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” - (Matthew 6: 19-20) -

[@user-hj2nk6nj6w]

0:19

[@AnonymousPsych]

Jimquisition incoming...

[@matthewstone1362]

We had a chance to create a Vegas in Blackpool. Nah let's give gambling to everyone on their phone. Ffs

[@tomappleton4697]

£3800 from a £1 acca yh of course, worked in the betting industry for years and you just dont see 3800-1 bets ever come in not once have i seen it

[@paulc3749]

The winners are the bookies

[@PaulioMaldinio]

I'm about 4 grand up of the bookies, they will never get it back now because gambling laws have changed. I hit those machines hard before April. £760 up off the Casino, since January, and £700 DOWN of online. Go figure

[@redrum4486]

This is for now. You think you've beaten the system. You'll carry on gambling in the future and lose all your money and be in debt.

[@zephergaming4437]

A Dot one hundred percent, I once won £10k from £20, was the worst thing that ever happened to me

[@bornyesterday8976]

And how much did you lose or put in the machines when you hit them hard......if what your saying is true then id guess youve actually won nothing.

[@shaunyb2011]

@@zephergaming4437 yep its mad how that happens man,i think its the the rush you get from it that keeps you coming back for more..

[@williamgullett5911]

30 yrs ago my dad, an accountant who saw many guys making real money go broke gambling, knew I was gambling. He told me "if Pete Rose, who has been in baseball for 30 years cant win betting on baseball then what makes you think you can win?"

[@MTCoblivsicas12345]

Mugs game.

[@-Chunk]

Awful stuff.

[@shaun9286]

I am a professional gambler. There is a way to beat the bookie by being a contrarian bettor

[@shaun9286]

U should monitor odds 30mins before start.

[@renetrost2711]

There are some ways to beat them but this is little help for addicted people

[@stevenorourke9012]

Let go to the pub and talk bout this over an invisible pint

[@mikes2529]

As an ex gambler who lost a small fortune it’s all on me. Stop blaming others and take responsibility.

[@johncurtis9900]

You are only 1 type of gambler. You don't represent 100% of the audience so your ignorant attitude goes beyond losing money voluntarily. Your loose oppinions are equally stupid

[@user-bn1ez6ye5p]

What a load of bollocks. Been gambling since the age of 12. Remember Brigadier Gérard winning best 2000 guineas in living memory in 1971, Jack winning his Masters in 86. I've bet all my life and decent lumpy ones. I've had my own business, given my kids a great education, own my house outright and never had a problem. Alcohol is a far bigger problem in society so why don't the pubs and supermarkets restrict your alcohol consumption in the same way the gambling commission and bookies are imposing draconian betting restrictions.

[@deletebilderberg]

You can’t blame McDonalds for obesity. Or car manufacturers for dangerous driving. The responsibility lays with the customer, not the company.

[@MystiCalBEING89]

Or car manufacturers for dangerous driving. lol what does that even mean and while being fat can be bad it normally doesn't cost u ur house

[@cheesball96]

Idiot

[@retcon1991]

Depends how you look at the concept of responsibility, or even choice. If someone susceptible is being battered by advertising and eventually succumbs, does the company really have no blame to take?

[@AJ-xv7oh]

There's nothing more pathetic then a 'gambling addiction'. Do me a favour.

[@hoot7588]

That is harsh and ignorant, if you don't mind me saying so.