What's the motive behind the anti gambling campaign

[chaser15]

What's the motive behind the anti-gambling campaign wherein, on the other hand, losing in a stock market isn't having the same anti-gambling campaign as common gambling?

Good topic but there are misunderstandings. It's no secret that there are lots of gamblers who already become out of their mind when they lose in gambling. The reason for this is, it's so easy to play gambling that even kids can play any time they want. Physical casinos especially mid-tier ones don't have any requirements before you can play as long as you have money on hand. Learning the interface in terms of online gambling is also easy to learn. You also don't need to be a technical person just to start playing gambling compare to stocks that knowledge is necessary.

Those conveniences are the reason why there are more people in gambling compare to stocks so it needs a hard anti-gambling campaign. There are also lots of users who lose in stocks but it's far more educational so there's no discouragement to enter stocks as long as people understand the disclaimers and risks associated with it.

[romero121]

I think the sad truth is, people who lose big money gambling. Are the same people who would lose big money investing in the stock market. Some demographics simply don't make good financial decisions. There are always big losers and big winners in every industry. And don't understand why gambling is being painted in a light where only the big losers are acknowledged.

No I disagree with you. Unless you don't believe in chance/randomness and you think some people will have bad luck whatever they will do and others will have good luck whatever they will do, you can't say people will always have the same odds to win and lose in different games.
Even in skill games, different games require different faculties, so odds to win won't be the same for a same player at all these games.

This is true, but if the gambler isn't same then the outcome will be the same in all games. OP has associated gambling with investment stock losses. That can't be compared, because with stocks we can make closer prediction and choose the right one for investment. Trusted investments never give massive losses as the one gamblers experience due to the loss of self control.

[lienfaye]

Well we know that if we're talking about gambling some people has a bad impression in it because of what it can cause to a person's life if he became addicted. Unlike if you lose in stocks or in any investment opportunity out there wherein you can handle it alone if you know what you're getting into. While gambling addictions are somehow different because of the emotions and the fact that you can lose your money in snap and the chance to win is more on luck. I believe the reason behind this campaign/advertisement is to spread awareness of the worst that you might end up if you gamble, and to warn people that it cant do anything good for us to engage ourselves.

To me there is a question of whether the media's negative coverage of gambling is intended to protect people who make bad gambling or investment decisions. Or is it intended to deprive people like me of opportunities to make money.

I dont think the latter is the reason. As I've said I think the purpose is to warn the people and to prevent them from losing their hard-earned money.

[FinneysTrueVision]

Religious conservatives have a lot of political power, disproportionate to their actual population size. We always see them pushing these negative narratives around things which they find morally unacceptable. We rarely see people who are willing to counter against them so the moral crusaders end up getting their way more often than not.

[Fredomago]

On the other side, if media shows many people have won in gambling and were able to change their life for the better, this will just attract more people to try their luck into gambling.

For sure, as there are lots of people who wanted to make an easy access, thinking positively that they'll be able to make the same fate with those gamblers who won out from this business.

Some of those people could ruin their life if they got addicted and went into debt. Not all people can be successful in the gambling industry, those who make it a living have a good discipline either if they win or lose and they have a stable source of income not just a day job.

More on the negative side, the percentage of those successful gamblers are far lesser than those who unable to manage addictions, people who loves taking the shortcut mostly leads their money into regretful journey, some ends up with heavy addictions.

People who ruin their life in gambling are often desperate to earn more money because their job is not enough to provide for their responsibilities.

Desperate to make it more quicker but not because of their salary is not enough, contentment is very important factors to avoid addictions, most of them are gamblers who have control problems, they keep pushing without limiting both their target for losses and winnings

[Alisha-k]

I think the media making negative publicity about gambling is to sensitise people on fiat management. Because when it comes to gambling a whole lot of persons don't have self control and decipline and as such risk more than the can afford to loose. Gambling still has it's positive attributes but shouldn't be over risked since it remains a game of probability

[Kakmakr]

The media will always look for some controversial angle to any subject to get maximum viewership or subscriptions, so they do not care about the positive side of a subject.. because that does not sell subscriptions or news papers.    ( I know this, because I have a family member that are working in this field )

Also, let's be objective and admit that the majority of people do not make a profit at casinos and that gambling addiction are a reality for a lot of people.     (The media will focus on that and not on the 1000s of people that won millions and those who had a life changing experience) 

[Kong Hey Pakboy]

Gambling is a vice and a lot of people lose their financial stability with gambling and studies have showed that gambling has negatvie effects to players, so I think that it is enough reason why they have an antagonistic image towards gambling which doesn't obviously work since they don't tackle the problem personally.

[michellee]

Religious conservatives have a lot of political power, disproportionate to their actual population size. We always see them pushing these negative narratives around things which they find morally unacceptable. We rarely see people who are willing to counter against them so the moral crusaders end up getting their way more often than not.

The religious conservatives will against gambling games because that is related to the forbidden thing in their religion. They can force the political people who have the power to prohibit gambling games. But the most reason why gambling games are prohibited is that playing gambling can make people addicted to gambling, people will lose their money if they can not control it, and people can ruin their lives.

[slaman29]

It's more of a social taboo in majority of the countries rather than an organized campaign. Gambling is seen in a bad light due to the social and religious structure, especially in poor countries. The same goes with alcohol as well and again due to the social and religious structure in many countries.

But gambling addiction is real. I have seen people lost crazy amount of money and then got into debt trap due to their gambling addiction. So we shouldn't take that aspect lightly.

Definitely more of a social taboo in a lot of countries and I can attest to this myself. It used to be about religion, but today people are more relaxed about it but still in some sections, gambling is seen as an activity only a certain type of people do and it's not a very positive connotation.

But it all does stem from addiction and the press also makes big stories around crimes or tragedies linked to gambling addiction.

[abel1337]

Religious conservatives have a lot of political power, disproportionate to their actual population size. We always see them pushing these negative narratives around things which they find morally unacceptable. We rarely see people who are willing to counter against them so the moral crusaders end up getting their way more often than not.

The religious conservatives will against gambling games because that is related to the forbidden thing in their religion. They can force the political people who have the power to prohibit gambling games. But the most reason why gambling games are prohibited is that playing gambling can make people addicted to gambling, people will lose their money if they can not control it, and people can ruin their lives.

Religion is one of the major groups that oppose gambling as far as I know. We can't blame them because it is their religion but if they employed it into their whole country, Other religions will be affected since the law will be the one who will stop them from playing. Most vices have the possibility to make you addicted to them, Gambling is one of those vices. Self-control and Limitation is the best way to make yourself not addicted to it. It will only be dangerous if you can't control yourself from it.

[Cling18]

To me there is a question of whether the media's negative coverage of gambling is intended to protect people who make bad gambling or investment decisions. Or is it intended to deprive people like me of opportunities to make money.

On the other side, if media shows many people have won in gambling and were able to change their life for the better, this will just attract more people to try their luck into gambling. Some of those people could ruin their life if they got addicted and went into debt. Not all people can be successful in the gambling industry, those who make it a living have a good discipline either if they win or lose and they have a stable source of income not just a day job. People who ruin their life in gambling are often desperate to earn more money because their job is not enough to provide for their responsibilities.

The media is just putting the consequences of too much gambling publicly that has different interpretations for most people. It is actually the gamblers who are addicted to it who are ruining their lives by risking everything that they have in gambling and not gambling itself. Gambling was originally made for entertainment but lots of people see it as a shortcut to success which is really risky. As for me, if a person has self-control and self-discipline, gambling wouldn't be a life treat.

[Rengga Jati]

It may be because of the negative impacts of gambling happened in society. And most people who got the impacts will also get worse condition and related to crimes.
Well, actually this should not be linked to this thing, however, it may happen often in society.
Gambling is also forbidden by some religions, societies, and also countries because of the negative effects. The impacts may not happen to all people. It may only happen to those who are really not able to control and have good management in funds and risks in gambling. So, they cannot control themselves when playing gambling and betting.

Life is so complex where there are many people who like gambling but also many who hate gambling.

[uneng]

Religious conservatives have a lot of political power, disproportionate to their actual population size. We always see them pushing these negative narratives around things which they find morally unacceptable. We rarely see people who are willing to counter against them so the moral crusaders end up getting their way more often than not.

Many religious representatives are against gambling, because in countries where gambling is legal people may launder money through gambling instead of laundering money donating to their churches and organizations. It makes the religious' income decrease.

On the other hand, the anti-gambling agenda isn't exclusivity of religious segments, because the liberal media is also totally against it. In fact, many conservatives and leftists are against gambling.

[dothebeats]

Maybe because the true winners are very few and far between?

But even so, I agree that the negative connotation about gambling shouldn't be always brought forth, only when necessary and trying to warn others. It brings food to a lot of tables at the expense of the money of those willing to lose it for the entertainment. Plus, the gambling industry also contribute millions, if not billions, to economies worldwide. While I get that people are trying to bring gambling to a negative light, at the end of the day, we are addicted to some forms of entertainment, to which gambling falls into as well.

[Silberman]

I think the sad truth is, people who lose big money gambling. Are the same people who would lose big money investing in the stock market. Some demographics simply don't make good financial decisions. There are always big losers and big winners in every industry. And don't understand why gambling is being painted in a light where only the big losers are acknowledged.

Fantasy sports is illegal in my US state. This may deprive me of options and opportunities to make money and profit.

To me there is a question of whether the media's negative coverage of gambling is intended to protect people who make bad gambling or investment decisions. Or is it intended to deprive people like me of opportunities to make money.

You bring a point that I have always believed, even if gambling was completely forbidden then those that were addicted to gambling or lost a fortune on the games will just lose that money and become addicted to something else, as you say there is a group of people that no matter how much you try to protect are going to lose their money anyways, in which case it is better to allow gambling and let the rest of the people to enjoy the activity and generate taxes out of it.

[worle1bm]

When people take gambling too personally and become quite addictive they tend to loose more than they afford to do so and later on we see such campaign set out for awareness by the same individual or community who shares similar exposure.We have seen Gambling Self exculsion programs have seen sudden increase in number of users.Why? Just because people are becoming addictive to Gambling and losing more they are winning but they can't stop themselves from betting and enroll for such schemes to stop them from further loss.Same is the case with this anti gambling campaign which aware players about gambling addiction and tell that house benefits more you loose or bet upto certain limit for entertainment purposes.Dont make gambling your permanent source of income as it is variable and can end you in worse situation as we have seen in many cases.You are just betting your money I hope of getting of more but it's not investment that will yeild returns but luck based where you win more or loose all your funds.So be sure before entering.

[iv4n]

Well, what's behind the anti-alcohol and anti-drug campaigns?! Probably the same thing that's behind the anti-gambling campaign!

I think there's more than one reason for that... and most of the reasons are already mentioned already! I guess the point is simple to understand, all anti focuses on bad sides! While users are focused on the good sides!
So we come to an old fact, every coin has two sides! So there should be some balance, we need to have some control if we want to last... if we want to do something in the long run! At the moment when we lost control over things we do, it's the moment when problems start coming! But many don't know how to do that, so they get into the problem, and that problem grows and hurts everyone who is close! Those who are hurt start to hate the vice that caused all the problems in their life! And they can be very passionate about that! We can't blame them for that, they are the ones who got hurt...

Now I am a gambler and many other things... for sure! But I know my limits and my chances, nobody around me suffers from my bad side! Most of the people don't even know about that!

[Fatunad]

Religious conservatives have a lot of political power, disproportionate to their actual population size. We always see them pushing these negative narratives around things which they find morally unacceptable. We rarely see people who are willing to counter against them so the moral crusaders end up getting their way more often than not.

The religious conservatives will against gambling games because that is related to the forbidden thing in their religion. They can force the political people who have the power to prohibit gambling games. But the most reason why gambling games are prohibited is that playing gambling can make people addicted to gambling, people will lose their money if they can not control it, and people can ruin their lives.

Excluding religious aspects when it comes to banning is that there are certain governments does really mind about their citizens and doesnt really mind about revenue or taxation
made out by these companies or simply on the entire industry where we do know that gambling can generate huge income and of course when it comes to tax they would really
be a big contributor but these type of government is really a bit rare or small in numbers and majority of them would really mind off about progress of their country via
tax rather than on minding with their citizens addiction probability.

[Goodluckmate.com]

As I've been working in the industry for many years now, I'd say that all these stories exist for several reasons:
1. News sites use them as clickbait articles. Everyone wants a sob story and everyone feels superior when they read about someone who made such terrible mistakes. So, I believe that such articles bring lots of traffic and engagement.
2. It's a way gambling authorities use to warn customers of the possible harms of gambling. And I agree that this can be a dangerous hobby, but honestly I also think that every hobby can be expensive. I have a friend who's constantly buying some limited edition books and expensive board games. Some of those cost like $200-$300 and he has at least 50 board games. He doesn't even play most of them. In gambling, you at least have a chance to win something I guess. This is just dead money sitting on a shelf.
3. Religious and social taboo. This was mentioned by many, so no need to further expand on it.
4. There are much more unhappy stories than happy ones. Though, if you follow iGaming news, you'd know that there are actually frequent juicy wins. They just don't reach mainstream media as often.

I don't personally think it's to prevent people from making money by becoming smart gamblers. Most people don't even believe that someone can become rich from gambling. Plus, this strategy wouldn't make sense for operators as they make money anyway. So, I'd say the reasons listed above are the primary ones for the bad reputation of gambling.