Help needed! Son is 17 and lost £1k!

seems to be a prerequisite of being a cardiff fan , gambling

What's yours? Incest?

As someone who has done the same on numerous occasions I know hiw easy it is to blow a grand on them. They are worse than crack cocaine. Evil things that should be banned.

Blaming the bookie is not the answer and if you get the money back (highly unlikely) it wont be much of a lesson.

Its good hes come clean to you and hopefully it will nip it in the bud because its an awful compulsion to have.

I have battled against them for years and its a tough fight.

If it gets worse, because it can, then take his bank card off him and give him pocket money.

Its what I have had to do. My missus keeps my card and I draw 3-350 out for the month and its helped me trenendously.

I can only echo these sentiments. Those machines need to be banned trust me. People always make out it's easy to stop playing them, well it isn't and like Polo I have battled against them over the years. For me it is completely different to losing a hundred pound on a horse or a football match, it's also a lot different than losing money in the casino. The fact is you can bet 100 hundred quid a time on these machines, they are relentless.

Polo three or four years ago I decided enough was enough. I would give the machines up for a week at a time then buckle and the the next few days id just bet a shedload to make up for lost time. I tried numerous things but none worked. The problem is with these machines you will NEVER give them up full time because you don't want to, you want to keep playing. So on thing has worked wonders for me and it's a tip I will share on here, its helped me a shed load if truth be told.

Basically I only play those machines on the 1st and 15th of every month. When I play them I only put 40 pounds in, if I lose I lose but it's only 40 pound compared to 400 quid. If I win then that's superb, I have a free weekend on the pop. If I pop into the bookies for the horses and my accumulators I always put 3 pound coins in the machines and play blackjack, if I win i''l have a pint, if I lose i'l have a pint anyway.

You are tricking your mind into thinking you are playing them all the time but in reality your not at all. Thats worked for me the past 3 years. Your son has gambled away a grand, I am 100 per cent confident that this is a long running thing. I seriously doubt you would bet a grand on your first outing to the bookies, you wouldn't be that f*cking confident.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

seems to be a prerequisite of being a cardiff fan , gambling

Keep your nose out ! tw*t

My son came home today and told he he went to the bookies never got asked for I'd and he went on the fobt machines and lost £1k, I didn't believe him I looked at his bank account and it's gone! What should I do!!!!! Thanks

I think that is serious problem for someone so young, you need to nip it in the bud or he will have a shit life.

I would try everything, frighten him, look up some stories on the problem gambling can bring, if you know a bookie or anyone that works in a casino, get them to have a word with him.

Don't give him any help financially at all, and take him to the bank and set up some savings for him, do it on a joint account with you, and make it an account that you bot need to sign to withdraw........

Feel very sorry for you. I don't know what the age of consent is in bookies but if he is underage the licence holder may well be in breach of the rules.

May pay you to visit the premises and take it up with the manager?

I suppose he could try but I'm pretty sure that the bookies would be covered provided there was a notice up saying that the machines could only be played by person's 18 and over (there nearly always is). At the end of the day the bookies haven't got a crystal ball to tell the difference between someone aged 17 & 18 and individual's should take responsibility for their own actions.

Let's be fair if he had won £3,000 would he have taken it back and told them he was only 17?

^ do that. Then keep half the money.

Do what he said and keep the lot.......

I can only echo these sentiments. Those machines need to be banned trust me. People always make out it's easy to stop playing them, well it isn't and like Polo I have battled against them over the years. For me it is completely different to losing a hundred pound on a horse or a football match, it's also a lot different than losing money in the casino. The fact is you can bet 100 hundred quid a time on these machines, they are relentless.

Polo three or four years ago I decided enough was enough. I would give the machines up for a week at a time then buckle and the the next few days id just bet a shedload to make up for lost time. I tried numerous things but none worked. The problem is with these machines you will NEVER give them up full time because you don't want to, you want to keep playing. So on thing has worked wonders for me and it's a tip I will share on here, its helped me a shed load if truth be told.

Basically I only play those machines on the 1st and 15th of every month. When I play them I only put 40 pounds in, if I lose I lose but it's only 40 pound compared to 400 quid. If I win then that's superb, I have a free weekend on the pop. If I pop into the bookies for the horses and my accumulators I always put 3 pound coins in the machines and play blackjack, if I win i''l have a pint, if I lose i'l have a pint anyway.

You are tricking your mind into thinking you are playing them all the time but in reality your not at all. Thats worked for me the past 3 years. Your son has gambled away a grand, I am 100 per cent confident that this is a long running thing. I seriously doubt you would bet a grand on your first outing to the bookies, you wouldn't be that f*cking confident.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Good post and it goes to show we all have our vices. If I lost a quid on a fruit machine I would feel sick as they simply hold no facination to me as it is so blinding obvious that the odds are stacked against you.

That said could I turn down a Cheese and Onion sandwich? Absolutely not no matter how much I didn't need it because that is my weakness and why I am so frigging fat.

Last edited by Tony Blue Williams on Mon Jun 04, 2012 6:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I always lose money in the bookies and end up wanting it back haha

Hilarious.

Hilarious.

The local heartless b*stard is out in force I see.

Fooking hell Chief. I would look into that he was under age and allowed into a bookies/ Arcade . and say he was under age and as such there gain was illegal. Say they should of checked his age and they did not so they are legally responsible. Trading standards may be your best bet. The company acted illegally whilst your son was just irresponsible. The law should be on the side of your son. But approach the company yourself and see if you can sort it out amicable.

You know what he should have done?

Won.

But yeah clamp down on him and force him to see the error of his ways. The people in there, couldn't care less about whether their customers go into debt, whether they are rich or poor as long as they plow money in. So you'll have to take it into your own hands.

Hilarious.

The local heartless b*stard is out in force I see.

He needs to realise he needs professional help.gamblers anon ,he needs to want to do it himself though.
otherwise he and his family face a future life of hell.

Fooking hell Chief. I would look into that he was under age and allowed into a bookies/ Arcade . and say he was under age and as such there gain was illegal. Say they should of checked his age and they did not so they are legally responsible. Trading standards may be your best bet. The company acted illegally whilst your son was just irresponsible. The law should be on the side of your son. But approach the company yourself and see if you can sort it out amicable.

I see what you did there, this isn't a joking matter Nukes

So going by some logic on here, had he won £1k would you be marching him down with his id and ordering him to pay it back? Of course not! Yeah, gambling can be a disease but you still have to be accountable. Thrash his arse 100 times with a cane, some folk would pay a grand for that anyway.

I would try and get the money back then take his cards and givehim some money every week

I never gamble just play bingo and the lottery

f**k me!

wish i could walk into a betting office and not be asked for ID

if he's 17 and on the machines, you could go in and report them !

probs get double back!

atleast he hasnt betted on real life horses and greyhounds! he'd never get it back otherwise

good luck anyway!

I have been managing in the gambling industry for 14 years and can confirm that the gambling legislation concentrates a lot on an operators social responsibility. Any person under 18 must have all their stakes returned. Firstly i would approach the manager of the shop, provide them with the date and times your son was in the shop so they can check their CCTV. I am not sure what equipment they have but my gaming machine equipment records every £ that gets played on any machine so I can see how good a machine is performing.

If you feel that this could become a problem again in the future I would encourage your son when he turns 18 to go into the bookies and ask to be self excluded. This will effectively ban himself for entering any of that particular bookies shops for a minimum period of 6 months and can be extended to 6 years. The shop will have a photo of him and will have a duty to prevent him from gambling.

Take Him to a Gamblers Anonymous Meeting....and nip it in the Bud, but like any addiction, it's like hammering the frogs in the fairground, you knock one on the head and up pops another......Shopping, Drinking, Druging, f*cking,( CCFC, )

But one thing is for sure....once his head is filled with a bit of recovery (Gamblers Anonymous) his Gambling will never be the same again.

I wish you all the best.

No offence mate I know you mean well but that self excluding is a load of bollocks. In theory it works in practice it doesnt.

Ive self excluded from Coral, Hills and Laddies and still go in them. Just used a different branch for the first few months but now I go back in all of them and im meant to be excluded for 5 years.

They are evil things and should be banned.

There's a GA Meeting in Cardiff on a Thursday.
http://www.gamblersanonymous.org.uk/ind ... f-Thursday

No offence mate I know you mean well but that self excluding is a load of bollocks. In theory it works in practice it doesnt.

Ive self excluded from Coral, Hills and Laddies and still go in them. Just used a different branch for the first few months but now I go back in all of them and im meant to be excluded for 5 years.

They are evil things and should be banned.

You Talking to me.