In UK there is a habit of trying to plan and manage everything. While this habit is one of the main reasons for the advanced state of development enjoyed by the countrys’ residents, sometimes it can be pushed to insane limits.
For example, out here all gambling websites, shops and even advertisements need to have information pointing to ‘GambleAware’ along with the advice: “Please gamble responsibly”. The main purpose for this is to remind people to ‘gamble responsibly’ and to show people with gambling related problems a way out.
All that is well and good but my question is how can one gamble ‘responsibly’?
Gambling itself is an act of taking a risk. So they are asking us to ‘take a risk’ with responsibilty? If you were responsible for something would you take a risk? The obvious answer to that is ‘depends’ on what you were responsible for and what was the associated risk, but that brings us to the question of what exactly is involved in gambling. What is it that we are risking?
So I went to the GambleAware website to try and figure out what they highlight as ‘risks’ of gambling without responsibility… in other words what is their definition of ‘gambling responsibly’. This is what I found (from their website http://www.gambleaware.co.uk/responsible-gambling):
A person who gambles responsibly:
- gambles for fun, not to make money or to escape problems.
- knows that they are very unlikely to win in the long run.
- does not try to ‘chase’ or win back losses.
- gambles with money set aside for entertainment and never uses money intended for rent, bills and food.
- does not borrow money to gamble.
- does not let gambling affect their relationships with family and friends.
4) … money set aside for entertainment … : This calls for the following advice in all shops: ‘Please spend money responsibly’ because we know that whenever we go into a shop or supermarket or a mall, hundreds of offers/sales/deals are thrust into our face! That is why expensive brands (which we really can do without) are reduced marginally in price so that the average person, thinking of it as a deal, tends to buy them leading to overspending.
5) … does not borrow money to gamble. : This is a good one. All the banks out there distributing credit cards like they were going out of fashion listen up! Put the following advice in bold letters on your credit card: ‘Please borrow money responsibly’. So that people don’t run up huge credit card bills buying things they don’t need and cannot afford just because they are able to ‘borrow’ money easily.
6) … affect their relationships … : Another good one. All offices should have the following advice in all public areas: ‘Please work responsibly’. Also all managers and senior managers should be sent on special ‘working responsibly’ courses! We know work is one thing that affects our relationships the most. It keeps us away from our loved ones even after work hours. Gives us stress which we often take out on people we love.
Maybe we just need one advice tattood on the arm of all newborns: ‘PLEASE LIVE RESPONSIBLY’.
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So what do you think guys? Do you think we will see these bits of good advice popping up anywhere soon?
Fish Eye View 