Are we ignoring a gambling epidemic?

Lately, I notice quite the competition between betting outlets in the advertisements on television.

I’m torn when it comes to selecting a favourite. My shortlist consists of the commercial with two glamorous young people, a man and woman, who come into their kitchen and exchange meaningful gazes as a prelude not to passionate love-making, but steamy punting. The fridge opens up to provide plenty of betting opportunities, and then the two of them vault onto the couch to see what’s on television that they can throw a few bob on.

The other entry looks like it was created from spare chunks of Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels: in this commercial a few likely lads — geezahs, to give them the Latin designation — are having a laugh, or ‘avin’ a laff, together while they’re identified in freeze-frame as per their betting tendencies: the Sorrowful Philosopher, the Ruth Amid The Alien Corn, all that kind of thing.