Another celebrity who had well documented gambling problems was the late snooker player Willie Thorne. I think he, Merson and many others share the same character flaw with betting too much. The adverts are to tempt people, just as the ones on TV are for an enormously long list of different lottery games are.

Bingo halls and fruit machines have been around forever. Those like lotteries are gambling as well but seen as a more acceptable and harmless form. But I don't doubt for every Merson and Thorne whose weakness was sports betting there's times thousands of others who can't heat their homes adequately or worse because they're unable to visit their nearest convenience store without buying a scratch card or two which are always strategically positioned at the checkout.