Please Play Responsibly: Gambling Advertising Insights

I'm amazed by these three magical words. Please Play Responsibly.

These are three words that completely eliminate any liability of the corporations that rake in billions from addicts, not casual players.

We have had Las Vegas and Atlantic City for many years in this country. These were the East and West coast locations of the only places you could legally gamble in the country. Drive or fly to get there but man has that changed over the decades. Other states wanted in on the revenue of problem gamblers.

But before we get there we need to start with state lotteries which is a reason some states waited so long before allowing casino gaming. It was all the revenue of the state, not casino owners although I guess you can consider a convenient store a casino these days.

The lottery used to be simple and cheap. Purchase a ticket for a dollar. The Lotto, one dollar play. Instant tickets, one dollar play. The noble reason for the state lottery, at least in Ohio, was to fund the schools. I'm not sure how that is working out today but I still see a lot of school levies on the ballet.

As time went on in the State of Ohio, the lottery expands. Why?

It's not greed from the commission. In 2022 the director of the Ohio Lottery made 161,723 while the average annual salary of the 422 employees was 67,244. This means the expense just for salaries is about 28,000,000.00 a year. Your local retailer of lottery tickets makes 5.5 percent commission on every sale and a bonus for selling a winning ticket. That is five and a half cents for every dollar sold. Every wonder why your local convenient store now has a scratch off table? Now you know. But Please Play Responsibly.

We have better odds of being struck by lightening, three times, than we do hitting one of the two big games. Please Play Responsibly.

We can purchase instant tickets for as much as 50.00 each, Please Play Responsibly.

We now have casinos in Ohio. Please Play Responsibly.

We now have casino sports booking. Please Play Responsibly.

We now have casino sport booking apps so you don't have to leave you house to gamble. Please Play Responsibly.

We now have an app for playing lottery games online. Please Play Responsibly.

We now have constant advertising for sports betting and the lottery. Please Play Responsibly.

We have professional athletes in commercials with actors touting gambling. Please Play Responsibly.

We have bonus bets. Please Play Responsibly.

We get mailers with coupons for a free instant ticket. Please Play Responsibly.

We now pay two dollars a play and can purchase a multiplier for the big games. Please Play Responsibly.

We now draw for the big games two times a week, or is it three now? Please Play Responsibly.

Overkill yes but my father won $3000 on a ticket back when it was a dollar a play and then said, "God is telling me something" and spent the entire 3000 on more lottery tickets. He didn't get a nickel back from that 3000 in plays.

We had pharmaceutical companies selling highly addictive drugs (opioids) and no accountability by even one human being. Sure, fines were paid to the tune of a very small percentage of the profits made. Bonuses were paid to executives and they didn't have to give up any of their money. No day in court, no jail time. Just the typical billionaire punishment of fining a company large enough to make people happy but not affecting the companies or their employees. Weren't they drug dealers? Just like the scum we call drug dealers? I mean they handed the business over to the street dealers after the lawsuits. Heroin was cheaper, at first until your tolerance has you taking it every three or so hours.

Because of the flooding of pills that they first claimed were non addictive, we now have a slew of heroin addicts. And these people come from all walks of life. Not just junkie losers like they are made out to be. Lawyers, doctors, executives, A-list entertainers who's lives were cut short because of a drug that latches on and takes away your bodies ability to produce certain chemicals which lead to a violently dangerous period of withdrawal, when trying to quit, that people can't physically handle. I've lost two nephews and enough friends that I've lost count to this evil drug that was first created by the Bayer Pharmaceutical Products in 1895. Even back then they realized how bad it was. The intent was to replace Morphine.

But that's okay.

Society takes and does not give back. Gambling is mainly a poor or middle class persons hope to get out of their shitty situation. It is one of the dumbest things you can do. The lottery, casinos, sports booking are not a retirement plan. Please Play Responsibly.

I recently heard one of the Ohio Lottery ads touting how the combined jackpots of the two big games is over a billion dollars. So? What does that mean? You will not possibly win both but stating a billion dollars in an ad makes purchasing a ticket that much more enticing. Play Responsibly. Yes, you read that correctly. The end of that add did not say Please. It just bluntly said "Play Responsibly". Strong armed marketing anyone?

So, what I get out of this is, we will entice you, we will have advertisements everywhere, we will put a table or counter in the local convenient store so you can get instant results and go play again. Play Responsibly. Then at the end of every ad usually stated in "Quick-Speak" If You Are A Problem Gambler Call 1-800……

This eliminates all liability.

When will we recognize the long term affects? It will take longer than the drug industry because death isn't usually the end game. Just ruined families. That doesn't make the news as regularly because the station broadcasting the news needs the ad revenue from those commercials I mentioned earlier. Too many people make a lot of money for this to ever go away.

What we don't hear about in these ads are stories about problem gamblers. Stories about losing houses, the kids college fund, life savings because of a terrible addiction that we keep flaunting in addicts or potential addicts faces because those news stations are the ones flaunting it.

The industry is allowed to put out ad after ad glorifying the Lottery with the tagline Please Play Responsibly and the phone number for problem gamblers. Can't advertise cigarettes because of the harm they do but both alcohol and gambling we see everywhere. Almost forgot the proliferation of pharmaceutical ads we see and hear on television and radio. Ask your doctor about……How about my doctor tell me what's best for me? What the hell happened to the medical field. Oh yeah, pharma and insurance lobbyists talking to your elected representatives.

When do we answer the most important question, at what rate of human loss are we willing to make money?

Now, you can blow all your money without the trouble of leaving your home to purchase a ticket. Please Play Responsibly. When you lose your vehicle because you gambled away the payments you don't need to worry. We brought the casino home to you. Play Responsibly Dammit!

We are going to make gambling so easy, a kid can do it. Please Play Responsibly.

In the end, this will be ignored because most people that can afford to live, don't gamble. This affects the poor. Poor people gamble. Desperate people gamble. This creates addicts. It isn't exclusive because several very wealthy people have been exposed for their huge bets. Michael Jordan, Phil Mickelson and famously, Pete Rose are the first to come to mind but there are many more. If you are blessed without an addictive personality this will, more than likely, not affect you.

Giant jackpots are all over the airways including the before mentioned news. The amount of free advertising that goes along with the high numbers is amazing. News story after news story that make it out like it's a harmless way to have fun. There are people that only buy that ticket when the jackpot is huge. These aren't the targets of gambling sites but it helps. They are also the people who usually get interviewed standing in line. You never see the person who says they gamble hundreds each week broadcast on the news.

So I come back to, who is making the most money off of gambling? When you keep growing the business, there is a reason. There are a lot of people making a lot of money off the backs of the poor and middle class. Who are these people? The stock market is also a form of gambling and crypto is gaining ground as well. Hawk-tooee anyone? I don't have an answer. I'm sure there are a lot of thick envelopes being passed around under restaurant tables but that is an opinion only. Everything else is a Common Sense fact.

Then again there are a lot of people making a ton of money from alcohol sales. That product doesn't ruin lives. Cigarettes and now vaping. Those products don't kill people or help raise health insurance rates. Do they? The connection with all of these things is the amount of addicts in the world today for the sake of making a buck. Alcohol and tobacco is not going away because it is very highly taxed and we already tried the prohibition thing once and all that did was make the mafia a powerhouse.

There is a revenue stream to the government when it's legal, not just the industry. Marijuana is going to become legal soon, for the same reasons. It just hasn't yet because it cut into big pharma's business. They need to work on that with the lobbyists but will find a way.

So, let's get to the unseen issue within all of this. You might be thinking, well this doesn't affect me so why should I care? Do you have a doctor? A lawyer? Financial Adviser? Someday you might need a lawyer to settle an accident claim buy a drunk driver.

Let's start with Doc. What if your doctor had a drug or alcohol problem? If you knew this, how safe would you feel with this person? There is one thing addicts are very good at, hiding the issue until they can't hide it anymore. What if your doctor had a gambling problem? You've been with them for years and trust them. They might lose their home, get divorced, lose their license to practice. What if the solution was to purposely misdiagnose a patient or claim the patient has something they don't in order to get more visits and make more money to satisfy their debt? But then they blow it all at the track or even simpler, on their smartphone. Not many people actually get second opinions and if it is not a major problem why would you?

What if your lawyer was in debt and recommended you settle a claim instead of going to court because the lawyer needed the money to settle gambling debts RIGHT NOW. Going to court takes a long time.

These addictions can affect you even though you never gambled or even bought a raffle ticket. You never drank, smoked or did hard drugs. An alcoholic hits you head on and the accident kills you or affects the rest of your life. Yet you never touched a drink. Which brings us to auto and health insurance which most of us have. Addicts have a tendency to need doctors and hospitals more than most for a variety of reasons but none more devastating than the accidents they cause. With that, our collective rates go up.

It's not your problem? It is everyone's problem yet it is barely, and I do mean BARELY addressed.

Now you have some pretty good reasons why. If we started bringing attention to the affected and what they can and have done instead of all the attention to the winnings you can get things might change. Cause and affect.

You Can't Win if You Don't Play. Please Play Responsibly. Gambling Problem, Call Anyone Other Than Us.

This is a mental health issue on all counts and if you believe someone you know has an issue, try to start a discussion with them. They need help and a lot of the time they will listen to a close friend.

Thank you for your time and stay Classy.