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Gambling Addiction UK

They have been called ‘the crack cocaine of gambling’ and have been around since the 1880s. In Britain there are over a quarter million of them. In America they are known as slot machines and are usually accompanied by white-haired, little-old ladies in shell suits. The British know them as fruit machines and they can be found in pubs, amusement arcades, kebab shops, or in casinos where their suave brothers reside. The metallic clatter that resonates from the mouth of a fruit machine as coinage spews forth is a din synonymous with the pub barroom or the dilapidated seafront arcade. But behind the flashing lights, sound effects and spinning reels lies the worrying statistic that there are up to 370’000 problem gamblers in the United Kingdom.

The crack cocaine analogy alludes to several of the traits that the drug addiction shares with its gambling peer. Many experts have asserted that fruit machines are the most addictive form of gambling due to their ease of access and quick-fire action that allows the gamer to bet relentlessly. Fruit machines display none of that casino glamour that exudes from the James Bond baccarat table or the roulette wheel. They are more commonly associated with grimy, dingy town centre amusement centres where zombies sit transfixed, cupping their plastic tub of pennies in one hand while feeding the slot with the other.

Of all the gambling addictions, it appears that addiction to slot machines is the most prevalent. The gambling concern charity, GamCare, has reported that over fifty percent of the calls they receive are from those seeking advice or help for slot machine related problems. Clearly, there is also concern in America for the potentially damaging effects of gaming machines and they are banned outright in several states. In Norway, where problem gambling is rife, all slot machines came under state ownership in 2007.

Back in Britain, our widespread fascination with gaming machines is nurtured at an early age. For decades it has been legal, and socially acceptable for children to play on low stakes gaming machines such as 10p fruit machines and ‘penny falls’. What is seen as harmless seaside fun by some is branded as irresponsible and dangerous by others. Both the BBC and the Daily Mail have run stories highlighting the potential danger in allowing children access to fruit and gaming machines.

The abundance, the ease of access and the quick-fire betting of gaming machines only account for part of their addictive nature. The artificial intelligence of modern day machines can be programmed to manipulate the gamer into playing on when they might otherwise have stopped by allowing them to believe that they have almost won the jackpot. An example of this would be when two reels on a fruit machine match up but the third just misses (scratch-card operators have been accused of similar dirty tricks, always allowing two symbols to correspond but never a third, thus generating a thrill and sense of expectation in the gamer that entices them into playing again). With all these obstacles to overcome, escaping slot addiction in Britain can be a true test of will.