r/BritishTV • u/nextgentactics • Dec 26 '25
Question/Discussion Christopher Eccleston does a skit mocking gambling ads in an effort to stop gambling advertisement on television in the UK.
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u/_ribbit_ Dec 26 '25
Gambling adverts are a blight on society. They should be treated with the same regulations as tobacco advertising.
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u/Vavavavaxon7 Dec 26 '25 edited Dec 26 '25
When the UK implemented those new rules that required you to give your full government ID to a site (who will almost certainly leak it at some point), they claimed it was to protect kids. I'm not handing over my ID so I can no longer access subreddits about alcohol, drugs, smoking, or anything even remotely pornographic, but y'know what I didn't stop seeing? FUCKING GAMBLING ADS.
We can't have the kiddies seeing people drinking or boobies but we can funnel them directly into a horrific gambling addiction. How are you gonna take away freedoms "to protect children" then make gambling shit exempt from those restrictions?
Yeah, you can turn off gambling ads in the reddit settings but that's not the default.
EDIT: want to clarify that I'm not against safeguarding children online, I'm just flabbergasted at the double standards of gambling being let off the hook when it can be just as harmful as all the other stuff they blocked.
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u/Mark-C-S Dec 26 '25
It was the same when Tumblr banned adult content. Users got nuked for all sorts of minor infractions, but advertisers? Nah do what you want. Ad that simulates someone being sexually assaulted in the opening seconds? Shove that to every users feed.
Control what people can see, but not if someone's paying them to see it. Can only end well.
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Dec 27 '25
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u/Copydexmilkshake Dec 27 '25
I had a 20+ minute ad of AI rowan Atkinson asking me to join an investment telegram channel the other day. I mean wtf?
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u/fossil98 Dec 30 '25
Bro it's me Rowan Atkinson. Why you leave me on read? Not cool. Dm me for some investment tips that are the absolute Mr Beans knees.
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u/Logic-DL Dec 26 '25
Yea, can still access the National Lottery and Bet365 without an ID.
Fucken insane that if I needed help with suicide. I'd need ID to access the relevant fucking websites.
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u/TheRavingDinosaur Dec 27 '25
I signed up to william hill when I was 18, deposited money, gambled, no problem. When I tried to withdraw my money after a win they demanded photo ID.
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u/Weird_Plankton_3692 Dec 27 '25 edited Dec 27 '25
I hate how easy and prevalent gambling is in this country and agree with what this thread is saying. I also hate how the online safety act seemed to come in with no plan to keep citizen's data secure.
But I just did a check (with incognito mode because I don't want family using my phone and stressing out) and the NHS, Samaritans, Mind, CALM, Papyrus, Childline, SOS etc. are all accessible without ID. Even one local to me. The option to remain anonymous is important for a lot of people and I just want those reading this to not be afraid to use those facilities.
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u/CitizendAreAlarmed Dec 27 '25
Fucken insane that if I needed help with suicide. I'd need ID to access the relevant fucking websites.
What websites do you mean?
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Dec 27 '25
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u/ProlapsedPersonality Dec 27 '25
This is the annoying thing - it is actually infuriating that you can still go on gambling websites without ID, but by creating a bullshit strawman that guy has completely derailed a fair criticism
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u/KaiTheDumbGuy Dec 27 '25
Not suicide, but you do need an id (possibly a VPN there was talk of restricting it more totally) to access things related to self harm.
On reddit for example, there were already very strict guidelines on self harm, so all subreddits that stick around are pro-recovery and there for support, and if any pictures of fresh self harm are posted the entire subreddit is banned. People are gonna self harm whether they see it online or not, so restricting communities where people can feel less alone, and get help and advice on how to try and stop and be safe is ridiculous, especially when a large portion of the people who self harm start in their teenage years.
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Dec 27 '25
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u/KaiTheDumbGuy Dec 27 '25
Those are resources but not communities.
They also aren't that helpful. Speaking from experience, self harm is addictive and insanely hard to suddenly stop completely. 'alternatives' on resources like that, if they are provided, don't really work. Before someone gets to a place where they can manage to stop, there needs to be harm reduction and staying safe first. That's where communities like the ones on Reddit come in- you can learn about how to stay as safe as possible, and realise that oh yeah, self harm is addictive, you aren't insane for struggling with it, there are other people like you.
The self harm communities on Reddit are not just people feeding off others suffering. They are people supporting each other.
Personal anecdote time: I cut myself long before I had heard anything concrete about it, all id heard was that cutting yourself was a thing that some people did. I was probably about 12. Before I found the communities on Reddit, I never cleaned the tools I used, I never cleaned any cuts, and I used the same rag that I never washed to soak up the blood. I also would never have searched up any of those websites mentioned, because they were just going to tell me to stop completely and I did not want to do that. After finding the self harm sub, among a few others, I learnt how dangerous what I was doing was, how high the risk of infection was, which yes, seems obvious, but id never even thought to consider it before. Whilst I still cut myself, I was now being much safer about it- cleaning blades, throwing out dirty ones, using antiseptic. I also saw that I wasn't alone, that other people were struggling with it like I was, that it is a serious thing and it is hard to stop- you shouldn't be ashamed that you find it difficult to stop. Through learning all these things, that I would not have learnt through anything other than a community of other people that understand me, I have started to cut myself less, to start to get better.
I understand that interacting with communities like this isn't helpful for everyone, and I also understand that if you haven't struggled with self harm, it probably sounds odd that someone would want to be a part of a community where everyone is suffering. But for me, and for many others, it's a vital and incredibly helpful resource, so restricting it is doing harm.
Sorry for the long reply.
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u/furiousHamblin Dec 28 '25
Fucken insane that if I needed help with suicide
I think they're still figuring out how to implement assisted dying
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u/Phoenix_Kerman Dec 26 '25
when you stop to think about the online safety act in any big picture terms it pretty quickly becomes obvious how evil it is.
you're talking needing to give up privacy for accessing support for alcoholics, forums for single dads or info on reproductive health. all of that's dangerous to take away and somehow advertising gambling is fine and legislating to make food and drink more processed as lovely.
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u/YchYFi Dec 26 '25
This is the way the world is going with the Internet. They have seen the way China has done it and they now like it.
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u/ibiacmbyww Dec 27 '25 edited Jan 29 '26
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
insurance arrest engine hat crowd tender lush money elderly truck
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u/Non_sum_qualis_eram Dec 27 '25
What do you think fascism is?
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u/ibiacmbyww Dec 27 '25 edited Jan 29 '26
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
marry cagey telephone north unique head provide punch sophisticated license
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u/Non_sum_qualis_eram Dec 27 '25
I think you're describing technocratic authoritarianism rather than facism, and I'm not sure how helpful it is to label everything controlling as fascistic.
I think Paxton or someone similar does a good job of explaining facism, which resonated with me, and it boils down to the rhetoric, a movement, and the systems. I don't think Starmer has the first two. Eco focuses on the cultural aspect as well.
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u/Valten78 Dec 26 '25
I agree with this. You'll never stop adults enjoying their vices, but there really is no need to advertise it in this way. A complete Ban on advertising is long overdue.
One of the major issues is that many media companies and newspapers run their own gambling sites, so they'll never sabotage themselves by supporting a ban and will actively oppose it.
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u/Tube_Warmer Dec 27 '25
Spend all their ad money, making it look like every bet is a winner. Then though in a little "when the fun stops, stop" slogan at the end and everything is right in the world.
Talk sport, they have just an insane amount of gambling ads all the time. And thats how sports are. You just cant enjoy a game of football or something, without being slapped across the face with the very best of what sports better has to offer(winning) and none of the downsides.
Its like showing people looking cool smoking, but not saying "these people all died of painful cancers. Or survived painful cancer, with the help of being radiated... painfully.".
Something needs to be done. Dont need to stop betting, just need to stop the constant flood of making it look cool and fun and that its not heavily rigged against you.
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u/minidazzler1 Dec 26 '25
I have reported dozens of gambling ads on YouTube because I find them repulsive and straight up predatory. I'm not a gambler but im in the target demographic, mid-30s feeling financially secure - why not gamble it away... no way to get them blocked!
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u/dwez1 Dec 28 '25
Ironically I run ads on my blog and Google is very keen to ensure clicks on those adverts are genuine to protect the advertisers from wasting their cost per click. And yet even though I've set gambling ads to restricted I still get served them wasting the advertisers revenue.
I report the ads and any investigation comes back in minutes saying they can't find the ad that was served. How, with all Googles resources that tracks everything we all do, can they not keep track of an ad they served? They must do as the client has to pay for that! Also, it highly convenient that none of these gambling companies have their identities confirmed! Seems very odd an fishy to me. If Google wanted to stop them they could but too much money is involved.
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Dec 27 '25 edited Dec 27 '25
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u/Steve2911 Dec 27 '25
Yep - if adverts didn't dramatically increase the consumption of these things then we wouldn't see so many of them.
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u/Chinateapott Dec 28 '25
Yep and any celeb I see doing a gambling ad automatically goes on my shit list, if they weren’t there already.
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u/Amphy64 Dec 27 '25
I was surprised recently to see Cat's Protection put out a gambling ad. It said licenced by the gambling commission, obviously, but is that really what a charity should be doing? It's a bit bigger scale than a raffle at a local rescue or something.
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u/ldn-ldn Dec 28 '25
Got one on YouTube recently and reported it. Somehow Google removed it one day later. A small win for me.
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u/Gingerpett Dec 28 '25
I bloody well got asked if I wanted to buy a prize draw ticket at the register of a charity shop the other day. No! No I don't want to be invited to gamble while I'm buying a jumper.
BOILS MY FUCKING PISS
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u/voluotuousaardvark Dec 27 '25
Yeah, its the ads that are a problem.
Not the bookies on every street corner in the uk.
Gambling, generally, is a blight on society.
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Dec 28 '25
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u/gogoluke Dec 26 '25
Though not banned gambling is probably the most regulated of advertising. The gambling aware adverts are a direct result of this.
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u/_ribbit_ Dec 26 '25
And yet there still seems to be gambling adverts everywhere ...
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u/nextgentactics Dec 26 '25 edited Dec 26 '25
https://youtu.be/R6ufZU1pgs8 - full skit and conversation with anti gambling experts.
Eccleston has been e left leaning politically active actor all his life and has previously supported campaigns against bullying, helping victims of body dysmorphia and to help raise literacy among children.
His strong moral compass also allegedly was the reason for his exit from series 1 of Doctor Who and for his subsequent blacklisting from the BBC.
https://gamban.com/ - if you or any of your close ones need help.
https://cega.org.uk/#write-mp - if you live in the UK and want to take action
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u/BigTimeSuperhero96 Dec 26 '25
If I remember right he said anytime he had a scene where he'd be shouting at the daleks he'd pretend he was shouting at Margaret Thatcher
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u/ehsteve23 Dec 27 '25
the venom he said “kill yourself” to that dalek suddenly makes a lot more sense
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u/Emotional-Race-6260 Dec 26 '25
What was the reason he left?
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Dec 26 '25
I reckon Barrowman getting his wang out contributed
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u/UnacceptableUse Dec 26 '25
Publicly all he's said is he disagreed with the producers
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u/Sybs Dec 26 '25
He has said other things, said he'd only return to the show if they sack Russell T Davies.
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u/Logic-DL Dec 26 '25
Producers most likely. He threatened to batter a producer that was treating an extra like shit during the filming of Rose iirc. And he very much is in favour of treating extra's the same as any other actor. Something that the majority of sets and crews etc just don't do for some fucking reason. As if actor with no lines is subhuman compared to actors with lines.
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u/nextgentactics Dec 26 '25 edited Dec 26 '25
He refused to continue working on s2 due to extremely poor work conditions that threatened the life of cast and crew, 12-15 hour work days that broke union laws and the alleged actions of sex pests John Barrowman and Noel Clarke. The BBC then issued a statement that he was too tired to continue with the role and promptly blacklisted him from any BBC related media for the next 15 years.
edit - I apologize i remembered wrong he was backlisted for a few years https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/why-christopher-eccleston-left-doctor-who/ as per this article.
“What happened around Doctor Who almost destroyed my career,” he says. “I gave them a hit show and I left with dignity and then they put me on a blacklist. I was carrying my own insecurities as it was something I had never done before and then I was abandoned, vilified in the tabloid press and blacklisted. I was told by my agent at the time: ‘The BBC regime is against you. You’re going to have to get out of the country and wait for regime change.’ So I went away to America and I kept on working because that’s what my parents instilled in me. My dad always said to me: ‘I don’t care what you do – sweeping the floor or whatever you’re doing – just do the best job you can.’ I know it’s cliched and northern and all that bollocks, but it applies.” https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/mar/11/christopher-eccleston-macbeths-very-insecure-about-his-masculinity-i-am-most-men-are
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u/Hyperbolicalpaca Dec 26 '25
poor work conditions that threatened the life of cast and crew,
Apparently someone nearly died in a stunt involving a sofa, which wasn’t even included in the episode
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u/Nobody_Cares_99 Dec 26 '25
Where’d you get 15 years from? According to his Wikipedia he was in BBC produced/broadcast things from 2010 onwards.
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Dec 26 '25
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u/iain_1986 Dec 26 '25
No they haven't.
It's bullshit to pick apart one thing and blanket dismiss everything else.
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u/lesterleapsin37 Dec 26 '25
There is also the fact that the comment says that Eccleston left partly because of Barrowman and Clarke, something Eccleston has never once said or suggested.
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u/fortuneandflame Dec 27 '25
It's so frustrating isn't it - this is exactly why these dodgy TV people get away with it. Walliams has been an open secret for years, but anyone who speaks up would be blacklisted. If this happens to Eccleston on their prime TV show, what would happen to a low level runner on some small daytime TV?
Eccleston is one of the good guys, we need more of him around.
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u/drunken-acolyte Dec 28 '25
According to interviews he's given, amongst other dysfunction on set, one of the directors was bullying one of the props people. When he brought this up with RTD and Julie Gardner, they gave him no support whatsoever.
Contextually, the exec producers had never made FX heavy sci-fi before and the shooting schedule got three weeks behind within something like three days - if they sacked a director, they'd lose a four episode production block. But apparently no words were had and no reassurances given to Eccleston. That director has never been named, but only one of the series one directors never returned to the show.
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u/Aprilprinces Dec 26 '25
Do you have to be left leaning to want to do the right thing? Gambling is ONLY beneficial for the companies, it's harmful to a lot of people - it shouldn't be advertised
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u/SarcyBoi41 Dec 26 '25
Ah yes, because if the right-wing are known for anything, it's for fighting against corporations hurting people for financial gain...
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u/Doubly_Curious Dec 26 '25
I think you’re right that it’s not necessarily a left-right issue. But what you consider to be “the right thing” is definitely affected by your general perspective and political opinions.
There is a familiar stance that I think is more aligned with right-wing politics, which says this is ultimately an issue of personal responsibility and individual freedom.
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u/Aprilprinces Dec 26 '25
Trouble is ads are made by very well educated and smart people who know how to make people relinquish that individual freedom (you're not free once you're addicted)
Another thing is: purely pragmatic view: people gamble, ruin their lives, get in debt etc - and who has to help them and their families? The state, through the number of benefits, that some of these people will still spend on betting Once again we're back at the point where ALL the profits go the corpo, ALL the responsibility goes to the taxpayer
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u/Doubly_Curious Dec 26 '25
Hey, you definitely don’t need to convince me. I’m onboard with all of that.
I was just saying that the people who do need convincing are largely on the conservative side of things, in my experience.
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u/Aprilprinces Dec 26 '25
Which is shame, as they pay the price just like any of us
I get it arguing about taxes etc - sure; however some business practices bring ONLY costs to the state, and we as taxpayers have to pay for them - this really shouldn't be left - right thing
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u/Valten78 Dec 26 '25
Most conservatives when I was younger used to regard gambling as a moral danger and favoured it being heavily restricted. It's only in the last couple of decades that this more Libertarian attitude has become prominent amongst conservatives, who used to be more, well 'conservative'.
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u/fade_like_a_sigh Dec 26 '25
Gambling is ONLY beneficial for the companies, it's harmful to a lot of people - it shouldn't be advertised
You're talking about a central governmental power regulating private corporations, done to improve citizen wellbeing, and done by reducing the ability of a capitalist entity to make profit.
That's pretty left leaning.
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u/gogoluke Dec 26 '25
A traditional interpretation of right/left would easily place putting leftwing viewers into "needs regulation for those vulnerable and it is a societal issue." While right wing viewers into "people have a right to gamble and it's a personal issue rather than society."
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u/Aprilprinces Dec 26 '25
You know when the very capitalist US had its Golden Age? When they decide to regulate things, just a bit, not much, just a bit Der-regulation led to millions living in inhumane conditions, without any form of insurance, people dying from preventable illnesses
Yeah, I support regulation with both hands and legs
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u/gogoluke Dec 26 '25
How about their regulation of gambling effectively banning it leading to mob involvement during the golden age of America?
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Dec 26 '25
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u/iain_1986 Dec 26 '25
If you're right leaning the you believe in the market deciding what is right and wrong and that government should keep out of things.
I.e. - gambling adverts are fine.
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u/theorem_llama Dec 27 '25
Do you have to be left leaning to want to do the right thing?
No, but there's a strong correlation.
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u/NordicRacer Dec 27 '25
This is really worth a watch, powerful stuff. Huge respect for Eccleston, an informed and interesting review of the gambling market. Good on them for putting this out there.
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u/Outrageous_Photo_796 Dec 27 '25
Thanks. I've written to my MP using that link. Please can everyone else do the same?
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u/WonFriendsWithSalad Dec 28 '25
That was great, I felt so bad for that woman she interviewed (and for what her husband must have gone through)
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u/Same-Nothing2361 Dec 26 '25
Fair play to the guy. Annoys me to no end when I see celebrities I like suddenly appear in gambling adds.
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u/younevershouldnt Dec 26 '25
Hope Danny dyer is enjoying the new holiday home or whatever he got with his gambling ad money 🙁
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u/EquivalentMap8477 Dec 26 '25
I'll just leave this here as it encapsulates my feelings about this https://youtu.be/g1WLZtJVF34?si=-xY-yh6tV6USS_GZ&t=110
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Dec 26 '25
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u/Steve2911 Dec 27 '25
Any celeb considering a gambling endorsement should spend a month in gambling anonymous meetings or otherwise interacting with victims of what they're being paid to promote. Rub their faces in it and make it impossible to ignore.
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u/sa87 Dec 27 '25
We get shaq and Samuel L Jackson on the US based company gambling ads in Australia and then the “typical boys group” from another supposedly Australian gambling company (who has form stealing ideas like The Potato of Parity from /r/afl )
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u/PatriarchPonds Dec 26 '25
I generally consider myself a very laissez faire person. Let people do what they want, so long as they ain't harming others (discuss).
But gambling, beyond the odd 'flutter' on the lottery or the horses for a fun day out yeah yeah bla bla turns me into a hellfire preacher. Gambling companies, the lobby, the marketing et al have a special place in hell.
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u/Desperate-Calendar78 Dec 26 '25
Good for him, constant advertising, covering the high street and ruining people's lives.
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u/Ill_Temporary_9509 Dec 26 '25
But the bookies have gambling controls for their websites so you can limit yourself and absolve them of any responsibility
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u/Desperate-Calendar78 Dec 26 '25
That's true, addicts are the best people to set their own limits, renowned for self control.
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u/Gratuitous_sax_ Dec 26 '25
Yeah, and they have a message saying “when the fun stops, stop” which is how you cure addiction. I don’t know why alcohol or tobacco companies don’t put the same message at the end of all of their ads too, we’d have alcoholism sorted out in no time.
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u/wasdice Dec 26 '25
It doesn't say that unless you get really close to the sign. If you're on the other side of the road it just says FUN FUN FUN FUN FUN
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u/CrowdyFowl Dec 26 '25
You. Friends. Fun. Drink. Hot girls. You’re hot. Drink more. Expensive cars. Ass. Drink. Ass. Money. You in a tuexedo. Threesome. Vodka. Pussy. Drink. Drink. Drink! You! Drink! Vegas! Fun! Pussy! You in a tuxedo fucking this girl! Vodka! Drink! Drink! Drink! Drink it all you fucking pussy! More tuxedos! More cars! More pussy! More vodka! DRINK! DRINK! DRINK!
Please drink responsibly.
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u/greekdude1194 Dec 26 '25
If I can set a limit to only wager 200 currency /day what's to stop me from turning off or raising the limit? I know the apps I use have a deposit limit or wager limit that is optional... I never turned it on so idk what safeguards there are once enabled. But if it's just a slider or a button and an addict turns it on what's to stop from just saying off today, I know if I wager my house on an own goal today it'll happen
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u/AllTheThingsSheSays Dec 27 '25
Idk how it works for other apps but for the National Lottery app, for example if you set a limit of £10 per day, spend said £10 and then raise the limit to £20, the £20 only comes into effect the next day. You can't keep raising the limit and immediately spending more money.
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u/LyingFacts Dec 26 '25
Christopher seems a great guy the more I get to know of him.
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u/greentangent Dec 26 '25
Seems like he still has love for the franchise despite his rough go of it.
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u/SoilLife3069 Dec 26 '25
He definetly knows what his season meant to many child and adults alike in the UK. Despite what came after I'm sure he doesn't regret it.
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u/greentangent Dec 27 '25
He started my son's love of the show. He's 25 and has house full of Tardis's. Tardi?
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u/Financial_Policy1413 Dec 26 '25
Good for him personally I feel that gambling is the worst addiction to have the fact that these companies offer free bets and other incentives and that’s legal disturbs me
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u/MobiusNaked Dec 26 '25
Football clubs : The fans are so important
Same football club: Signs sponsorship deal with parasitic gambling business
Cunts
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u/RelatedToSomeMuppet Dec 27 '25
Also Football clubs; we could change the entire team overnight and you would still support us rather than admit you are in a cult propagated by capitalism so we can sell you merchandise.
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u/HobbitProstitute Dec 27 '25
Spent 6 months working for an online gambling company. In our induction we had to listen to a phone call of a frantic woman who’d spent 10 grand the night before and was scared about her husband finding out. We were then questioned on it.
Apparently the correct answer was to ban the woman. However I was told I was wrong when I said that she should have been flagged immediately when trying to deposit 10 grand in one sitting as “we can’t judge how other people live”.
These companies are predatory scum and I’m amazed they’re allowed to advertise at all.
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u/Guiltyhorse Dec 26 '25
Johnny Vegas, a recovering alcoholic, advertising gambling makes me sad
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u/_gmanual_ Dec 26 '25
for faces and voices those companies 'really' want, they can offer seven figure sums.
not particularly easy to turn that down, I am led to believe.
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u/Knight_of_Ultramar Dec 26 '25
https://youtu.be/O1jN9yZh2A0?si=j-c0HRKli_jKkkWR
He did this one about road safety wayyy back in the day too (I think this was even before his Doctor Who days).
Hilarious and darkly effective, but in twenty seconds he really shows you how versatile an actor he is!
And iirc about 10 years ago he did an awareness video for a dementia charity?
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u/chickbarnard Dec 26 '25
That's why Keith Lemmon (aka Leigh Francis) disappoints me more than his offending of Craig David and Daniel Bedingfield, his bloody gambling ads.
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Dec 26 '25
One of the nation's great actors, and also a bloody good person with his principles too, from everything that's come out about him.
Gambling is a scourge on our society, it's depressing seeing the highstreet just become small supermarket outlets, hairdressers (that are weirdly always empty), nail salons and places to put down sports bets. The government can and should be doing more to limit gambling.
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u/locksymania Dec 26 '25
Football is entirely given over to gambling money now. I don't know how you could even begin to disentangle it from the professional game. It is horrendous.
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u/LadyElleSimmer Dec 27 '25
Gambling adverts make me so angry. They should not be allowed.
It’s the passive aggressive ‘if the fun stops, stop’ tagline more than anything. They are paying so much money to get you hooked but it’s then apparently all your fault!
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u/Radiant_Mushroom_215 Dec 27 '25
Living in Malta, gambling companies are rife here.
What gripes me about them and those who work for them is that they call the industry ‘iGaming’. They’re clearly embarrassed to admit they work in a shitty industry. I’ll always correct them and say “Don’t sugarcoat it, you work in the gambling industry”.
The worst are VIP managers, who pray on their best customers, aka the addicts. If someone says they’re a VIP manager in iGaming, I tell them exactly what I think of them.
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u/Silencer-1995 Dec 28 '25
Gambling literally has no place in society. It just doesn't. However you look at it, its not in anyone's interest.
National lottery hosted by the government which pays out 50% of the tickets bought that week and invests the other 50% into cocaine for the Lords, that's what we need.
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u/randobonando Dec 26 '25
Watch the Paul Merson documentary and see what a gambling ad does to an addicts brain. They know and they don’t care. There’s no other vice where you can bankrupt yourself sitting on the sofa on your phone.
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u/Slyspy006 Dec 27 '25
The sooner gambling ads are banned, the better. I mean, better for the people as a whole, but obviously not for commercial TV, streaming, podcasts etc on which gambling companies are about the last advertisers left.
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u/doc720 Dec 27 '25
Good man, Eccleston. The UK needs to put an end to all the evil gambling companies that they've let grow and grow over recent years. I don't care how much tax they get, it's dirty money. They played the same dangerous game with vapes as well. Time to clean up Britain.
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u/Fridays_Child Dec 28 '25
It's frustrating that this is a 27 second clip of something that's far more hard-hitting and worth watching.
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u/SLngShtOnMyChest Dec 28 '25
It’s a real indictment that all the gambling adverts say stuff like “stop when the fun stops” or that they have built in measures to stop you gambling beyond a limit. Literally all of them.
It’s clearly a problem, it is criminal that the government hasn’t put a stop to them advertising this poison. We don’t let companies advertise cigarettes, we shouldn’t let them advertise gambling.
Politicians on the take again.
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u/Ra66it_83 Dec 28 '25
Im so sick of all these gambling adds its all i ever see on YT these days. I try to block all of them but the make new ones every day.
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u/ReserveRatter Dec 29 '25
It's insane to me that you can market the 1:1 psychological equivalent of a heroin addiction as a "bit of fun", and you can cram day-time TV and every single frame of sporting events for ads for this addiction. And no one cares, because "it's just a laugh".
Imagine every single time you watched a cooking show, there were huge boards saying "TRY METH!" and "Martha's Muffins is sponsored by The Association for Crystal Meth Use". "Add some fun to your cake mix by mixing in some meth! It's a good time!"
I feel really sorry for people who have full-blown gambling addiction and they can't even watch a football match (or even any random TV schedule) without being told constantly every 5 seconds to engage in their drug addiction.
In fact I would even say it can be worse than heroin, because you can't download heroin onto your phone and have it send you notifications that it's time to inject literally all day long.
The research has shown that many, many people have compulsive addiction to this stuff, it activates the same pleasure sectors in the brain as heavy cocaine use and sex addiction. These companies have spend billions hiring psychologists to make it even more addictive, too. The way it is currently advertised is unethical in the extreme, these companies even target children as future "customers". Gross.
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u/cupidstunt01 Dec 26 '25
Is there such a thing as a poor bookmaker?
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u/Formal-Fox-7605 Dec 26 '25
Yes, I've known many bookmakers which have gone out of business in the past decade or so.
Source: Matched betting accounts.
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u/Jamieb1994 Dec 26 '25
Such a underrated actor.
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u/rokstedy83 Dec 26 '25
I'm not sure he's underrated tho
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u/Dangerous_Tax7708 Dec 26 '25
Depends on where you live, I don't know how popular he is in the UK, but in America I didn't know about him until I started watching Dr. Who this year
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u/SoilLife3069 Dec 26 '25
I heard he's great in a series called "The A word" still need to watch it myself.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Potato9 Dec 26 '25
Danny dyer pissed me off before and ever since he keeps popping up with his paddy power ads it's went to a new level
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u/Stevemachinehk Dec 26 '25
Should go the way of Hong Kong and make gambling legal only as regulated non profit, similar to the national lottery.
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u/SupermarketCrafty329 Dec 26 '25
I have recently found myself watching bits of media that end up featuring ads and the amount of gambling ads really shocked me.
It's a cycle of betting ad, to invest your money here ad, to betting ad. None of us have any money as it is. Fuck off.
How is this ok?
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u/SaneEscape Dec 27 '25
I just left the gambling industry and I’d like to add that the teams that are operating for user ‘protection’ are not there to protect anyone. They follow loose procedure, only call you if you’re losing, and are there to fulfil a policy so that when something awful happens you cannot sue them. I’m ashamed that I contributed to the industry but I had no choice at the time
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u/Adapt_Improvise_1 Dec 27 '25
Do you who isn't ashamed to promote online gambling? Nigel Farage, as soon as there was a sniff of extra regulation and protection to address gambling addiction, there he was calling a press conference to promote the gambling industry in return for the usual backhanders and donations, the absolute weasel.
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u/daidia Dec 27 '25
can we borrow him in the US? I’m so tired of PrizePicks ads. we’ll return him in good condition, I promise!
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u/asjaro Dec 27 '25
"When the fun stops, stop." The fun doesn't exist for the people who fund these businesses because they're addicted to gambling. If they could stop then they'd never start. Just seems like a massive troll.
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u/mynameisjodie Dec 27 '25
They need to be banned having a good time whilst gambling is not a good advert
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u/Mooman-Chew Dec 27 '25
I play a little game in YouTube if I get a 20 sec add on YouTube of back and forth to see how many unique gambling adds I can get in a row. 6 is my PB
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u/hashbrowns_ Dec 27 '25
It still blows my mind that real people take real advice from people who's entire value to the world is that they read and speak words that someone else wrote.
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u/EatingCray0ns Dec 28 '25
Everyone in the comments outraged at gambling companies being allowed to advertise their product, but what about alcohol?
At least with gambling there are tools in place to self exclude. For alcoholics they can always get a drink yet nobody seems to care that alcohol is routinely advertised.
You could extend this argument to anything unhealthy like junk food. Obesity is a problem so maybe McDonald’s or Cadburys or Pringles should also be banned from advertising their product?
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u/mangetouttoutmange Dec 30 '25
But right now people are talking about gambling. Nothing you say is incorrect but it’s actually possible to focus on one problem at one point in time without the ‘whtabout’ism.
It’s like if someone is raising money for bowel cancer and you storm in and say ‘yeah but what about throat cancer’.
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u/EatingCray0ns Dec 30 '25
Not quite the same. Everyone knows that cancer is bad regardless of which type and that awareness / funding is needed.
I get the impression most people in the comments who are outraged with gambling, probably have no problem with alcohol adverts because they themselves like a drink from time to time. Not realising that gambling is the same, in that if it’s done recreationally for leisure it can be a healthy form of entertainment - but people jump to conclusions that because some people who like to gamble are addicts (just like with alcohol), that means gambling adverts are all evil.
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u/mangetouttoutmange Dec 30 '25
Literally no one in these comments is calling for the end of gambling. They’re calling for an end to gambling ads. You’re just projecting. Anyone who ignores that there are a significant number of people experiencing harms is a retard.
Just because some people experience no harm doesn’t mean no one does.
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u/EatingCray0ns Dec 30 '25
There definitely is plenty comments of people calling for an end to gambling, and that it has no place in society. Saying people who work in the industry are scum etc
People are entitled to their opinion, I just wanted to point out, as someone who works in the industry, that it’s a double standard if at the same time you’re happy with alcohol and junk foods.
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u/mangetouttoutmange Dec 30 '25
just because alcohol and junk food is bad doesn't mean gambling isn't bad. the idea thta gambling doesn't ruin lives is farcicle. If you don't want to be called out for working in a harmful industry, stop working in that industry. Honestly so pathetic when people actively working in things which cause harm to individuals and society get upset when they're called out for it.
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u/EatingCray0ns Dec 30 '25
I know that gambling ruins lives, never said it doesn’t. As I’ve said, alcohol and junk food also ruins lives, and that was the point. Any of these things done excessively are unhealthy, does that mean none of these industries should be allowed to advertise their products, or even operate at all?
So you’re ok with anyone who works in the gambling industry being called out then. I suppose any person who works in a local pub or off license should be called out also by that reasoning..
Double standards.
And I’m not upset, but you certainly sound like you are.
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u/mangetouttoutmange Dec 30 '25
correct. now you've got it. people who work in harmful industries should be called out. there's no double standard there. well done for finally understanding.
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Dec 28 '25
Gambling addictions can be absolutely devastating for people can't they. Maybe they are not considered as dangerous as other addictions but yeah - gambling ads should not be allowed on TV imo. Even those online bingo ones - online gambling makes it all so easy to put bets on - maybe if people actually had to go into town and put bets on or go out and socialize at the bingo like they used to there would be less people getting in bad places money wise.
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u/droolyflytrap Dec 28 '25
I streamed the brilliant comedy series 'Dont Hug Me I'm Scared' on Channel 4 recently, and I was astounded and disgusted by the sheer quantity of gambling ads I was bombarded with.
I pity gambling addicts, because they really are being preyed upon.
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u/sampysamp Dec 28 '25
As a Canadian who moved to the UK and has lived here for over a decade now I was initially shocked and how unregulated and pervasive drinking and gambling are in this country. And it’s often dressed up and sold as “culture” which is sad.
Marijuana is legal in Canada and before it was it was pretty pervasive, accepted and not overly policed. Often I’d be out after work with people who wanted to get round three, four or five on an empty stomach on like a Tuesday or Wednesday. Sometimes I would casually mention I prefer smoke to drinking and I would get a lot of judgement—from people who just smashed pint 5 on empty stomach on a Wednesday night and have a wife and kid at home.
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u/sampysamp Dec 28 '25 edited Dec 28 '25
As a Canadian who moved to the UK and has lived here for over a decade now I was initially shocked at how poorly regulated and pervasive drinking and gambling are in this country. And it’s often dressed up and sold as “culture” which is sad.
Marijuana is legal in Canada and before it was it was pretty pervasive, accepted and not overly policed. So I speak about it pretty openly.
Often I’d be out after work with people who wanted to get round three, four or five on an empty stomach on like a Tuesday or Wednesday. Sometimes I would casually mention I prefer smoke to drinking and I would get a lot of judgement. Judgement from people who just smashed pint 5 on empty stomach on a Wednesday night and have a wife and kid at home.
I also remember being taken to football matches and the lads would be betting on the game. They would ask me if I have anything on it. I had recently started investing a little bit. And I told them I stopped gambling when I tallied my total win/loss ratio at the casino I grew up near in Canada where you could go as young as 18. Now I’m investing.
I was literally investing less than they were betting on sports and they were like ooh we didn’t realise you were posh…
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u/jackochainsaw Dec 30 '25
I like Christopher Ecclestone. The reason he only did 1 season of Dr Who was because he got such a shoddy treatment in the season he was there that it broke him and he decided he wasn't coming back for a 2nd season. This revulsion at the Doctor joke plays a bit more into that. I remember watching him in an interview at a comic con with Billie Piper and he was really giving the production crew hell.
As an aside, gambling is a blight. There are people that have impulse control and addictive personality disorders that should never be introduced to gambling, it is a life ender.
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u/fzzface Mar 19 '26
Fair play Mr Eccleston. And FWIW I can’t ever access National Lottery app as it always tells me I’m overseas… chance would be a fine thing.
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u/RedPillOrBluePill420 Mar 19 '26
“Won’t the BBC sue the arse off you?” 😆
Man Ecclestone is a national treasure, protect this man at all costs.
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u/montageofawoman Dec 26 '25
I don’t usually enjoy celebrity-fronted documentaries but Chris Eccleston is the exception right here. I love that he name-checked Peter Crouch -many others might not have the guts.
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