Like so many parents, Liz Ritchie hangs an ornament on her family’s Christmas tree for each of her children. As she hooks her son Jack’s to a branch, she’s reminded he won’t be home for the holidays.At just 24 years old, Jack died by suicide after a gambling addiction left him feeling helpless, stealing away his sense of purpose and his life.
“They warn you about sexual predators, drugs and alcohol, but the government never said anything about gambling,” she told CTV News. “Canadians were accessing gaming with no controls, no oversight, no protection. And that's what this has done, that's been the biggest change in the last 12 months,” said Burns.
Public Health England found that there are more than 400 suicides associated with gambling each year in the country. In 2019, England’s National Health Service opened its first of 16 planned child gambling addiction clinics. Al now volunteers his time with Gamblers Anonymous Ontario, and he too is worried about the influence that sports betting commercials could wield.
“A lot of parents think that their kids are doing their homework upstairs, but they're racking up $30- to 40-grand on a credit card,” Al said.Some fans are speaking out against their favourite stars who’re now featured in some of the advertisements.Recently found out about his politics too. I hope he walks something back. ISometimes you need to change your heroes because you see them differently.
“It’s always in our hands. You don't have to drive to a casino or store if it’s snowing or if it's raining. You can from home while you're drinking a coffee, and destroying yourself.”Back in England, Ritchie says that she likens the wave of commercials and content on TV is spoon-feeding children the addiction.Ritchie, who’s now co-founded the organization Gambling with Lives, notes that she and other families know the cost all too well.
AdrianGhobrial CHANGE! Beware, not all change good, and it's results are never guaranteed
AdrianGhobrial I noticed it during CFL games this summer as well. It's super cringey
AdrianGhobrial Directly below this post on my feed is an add for an online betting business. I have seen so many adds for online and sports betting in the past 3-4 months. I don’t have to read this article to know that it’s becoming a problem.
AdrianGhobrial Like 90% of all private gambling in Canada is to facilitate money laundering
AdrianGhobrial It's disturbing when they send out an 'expert' to give you a special tip on -110/+110's
AdrianGhobrial These unofficial casinos like leovegas are not entitled to give you your winnings. If you win a lump sum they can perma ban your account without warning. If you leave a bad review on the Google store; Google will remove your review and not allow you to view the app.