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TV, the bookies, online, casinos, bingo, pubs, the lottery...there are countless temptations to have a quick flutter.
For most a punt on something like the slot machines is just harmless but sometimes, it's the occasional gamble that can turn into an addiction. Take Andrea Steel who spoke to The One Show for example, her gambling problem started on the fruit machines at the age of 15.
It was Andrea's means of 'escapism' but when she started spending in the region of £300-£400 per week, gambling soon became a problem.
The temptation for people like Andrea could be even bigger following the government's announcement that the jackpot in slot machines is to rise from £35 to £75.
And with the amount you put into these machines also increasing from £1 to £2, the stakes are higher.
While pub, club and amusement arcade owners have lobbied for an increase in stakes as they cope with the recession, the plans have been critisised by anti-gambling organisations.
Christian author, Chick Yuill feels raising jackpots prize money is a bad idea because it will attract the young and the vulnerable. He says, "Fruit machines are the doorway into gambling that hooks people."
Where to go if you feel you have a problem:
Gamcare - 0845 6000 133
www.gamcare.org.uk
Gambler's Anonymous
www.gamblersanonymous.org.uk/
Are slot machines the route to gambling addiction? Is gambling a loser's game? Or is the art of gambling knowing when to give up?
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