Journalist Wanted

A question about : Journalist Wanted

Hello,

I will make this very brief as I do not want to go into too much detail in the public domain. I hope to gain the support of a journalist willing to publish my story on a national level if possible.

Basically I have had an aillness over the last 9 months that has just been diagnosed bipolar disorder. To cut a long story short this has been part of the reason of which fuelled an extreme gambling binge. Now my story isn't about getting my money back but about getting a system in place that protects people like me from completly destroying their lives.

I have been in correspondance with 2 well known high street bookmakers and they both claim that my level of gambling was normal and are not willing to pursue a complaint.

Ok let me highlight 2 days worth of card transactions at each bookmaker

Bookmaker 1

19 May Ј200
19 May Ј200
19 May Ј300
19 May Ј100
19 May Ј200
19 May Ј200
19 May Ј250
20 May Ј300
20 May Ј300

Bookmaker 2

18 May Ј150
18 May Ј200
18 May Ј250
19 May Ј200
19 May Ј200
19 May Ј200
19 May Ј200
19 May Ј300

Some of these transactions were made within minutes of each other but between the first and the last transaction in each day was no more than a few hours.

The operators have a Social Responsibility within their license set out by the gambling commission to stop this from happening, however the gambling commissions regulations are toothless as they fail to identify what an acceptable level of gambling is before somebody stops and asks you what you are doing. One operators response was that his staff are not trained to identify these problems... WTF.

The card transactions were the tip of the iceberg but I would guess that between the two stores I have clocked up Ј30k of debt within 9 months due to this addiction in line with my illness making it worse.

What I need is some national coverage to highlight how people with addiction are being failed by the operators and the regulators and the fact of what obscene amounts the operators deem to be normal levels of gambling.

Please please someone out there who can help get in contact, I have kept all correspondance and bank statements to support my claims.

PLEASE PLEASE HELP ME TO CHANGE THIS SO THAT OTHERS DO NOT GET THE CHANCE TO DESTROY THEIR FAMILIES LIFE LIKE I HAVE.

Best answers:

• Cliffnotes: Done my balls, now I want the money back.
  How are they to know if you have a gambling problem? You could have just been wealthy and wishing to place a few bets.
  You were obviously a gambling addict so you would have found a way to gamble somehow.
• Yeah its a difficult one this. I like to gamble and will probably say gamble Ј10 5 times a week. That fits in with my personal financial circumstances. However if I was say a footballer I would probably gamble hundreds if not thousands of pounds a week, because if i earn Ј50k a week betting Ј10 on one game is a bit pointless....
  I wouldn't expect the bookmaker to check everytime I gambled what my personal financial circumstances are.
  I was in a casino last week and the guy next to me bet Ј100 on every hand of blackjack he played. Again I would not expect the casino to check if he was alright after each bet!
• As someone with bipolar, I do not think it is the responsibility of the bookie to question your betting levels. It is for yourself and those close to you to find ways to recognise that you are in a manic phase and hence need to avoid certain activities.
  I really don't see what you expect the bookies to do. I know gamblers with no MH conditions that can easily spend in the thousands over a few days, so your spending pattern is not out of the ordinary.
• Would you be seeking a journalist if you'd won your bets?
• The other problem you have is that stories like this don't get a sympathetic viewing in the public domain. If the Sun newspaper pulblished a story about a guy who had lost Ј30k in 9 months by gambling I don't think there will be a public outcry in your defence. I think its more likely that members of the public will think you are an idiot. I don't agree with this view but I think thats what most people would think.
  You obviously have a gambling problem which I do believe is an illness (as much as any addiction). If you don't do already I would suggets you speak to the relevant support associations who exist to help people with this problem.
• What was the medication? Were you warned by your doctor?
  You could apply the above argument to shopaholics too.Are you saying there should be no shops on the high street?
• What do you actually want out of this situation? What specific steps do you think the bookmaker should have taken?
• Who told you the medication could have made you gamble?