I have always maintained that when it comes down to problematic situations, people are the problem, not the situation. So, as far as problem gambling is concerned, people are the problem, not the gambling game. This little story only goes to prove my point even more, it tells how an Oldbury resident with a problem blew more than £4k of his neighbours’ money.

Thousands of pounds were entrusted to 28 year old John Rourke, of Oldbury, however apparently, Rourke could not be trusted. The courts heard how he was given £14,272.96 by fifteen of the residents of Henderson Court, while they switched property management firms. The property company was responsible for the up-keep of their maisonette units. They were not happy with the existing service. Over £9,000 was transferred but he frittered away the rest playing at online gambling websites.

Despite the fact that his neighbours badgered him to hand over the rest of money to Barclays Property Services for more than two months, no money came to light. Basically all they wanted to know was what happened to the rest of the money. He simply blamed the banks; not a difficult thing to do these days saying they were the ones making mistakes with the transfer. The total amount of the shortfall was £4,891.08, the Magistrates Court was told.

Eventually he admitted the theft to investigators say, and has also since moved to another address. The greedy gambler who inadvertently gives a bad name to online gambling, was eventually handed a twelve-week sentence and told to pay back the amount in full as compensation for the loss. He is now under supervision with an electronic tag for twelve months, as well as on a curfew between 8pm, and 7am daily.

What we have to bear in mind is that not all online gamblers behave so badly, it takes all types to make up the world, and by the same token, gambling games, as we said previously, are not the problem. It is easy to blame a game or gambling over all when a person is in denial, but we all have to be responsible for our own actions or inactions.

It is only when a problem gambler admits to him/herself that they have a problem, that they will be receptive to help. In this case the defendant surrendered himself to the police and was forthcoming in admitting what he had done, when he eventually realised he could no longer get away with the farce. Eventually he did take responsibility for his poor judgement, and the courts definitely take this into consideration when handing down a sentence.

Fortunately for us, the British Government makes sure that warnings are present at all the above-board gambling online services. This includes self-exclusion, as well as links to various help programmes such as GambleAware. Most are eCOGRA certified, so, look out for this accreditation too, and it means that recourse is available to take care of consumer needs, it also ensures quality control.

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