The word “addiction” is derived from a Latin term for “enslaved by” or “bound to.” Anyone who has struggled to overcome an addiction or has tried to help someone else to do so understands why.Addiction exerts a long and powerful influence on the brain that manifests in three distinct ways: craving for the object of addiction, loss of control over its use, and continuing involvement with it despite adverse consequences.Addiction is a condition that results when a person ingests a substance (e.g., alcohol, cocaine, nicotine) or engages in an activity (e.g., gambling, sex, shopping) that can be pleasurable, but the continued use/act of which becomes compulsive and interferes with ordinary life responsibilities, such as work, relationships, or health. Users may not be aware that their behavior is out of control and causing problems for themselves and others.The word addiction is used in several different ways. One definition describes physical addiction. This is a biological state in which the body adapts to the presence of a drug so that drug no longer has the same effect, otherwise known as a tolerance. Another form of physical addiction is the phenomenon of overreaction by the brain to drugs (or to cues associated with the drugs). An alcoholic walking into a bar, for instance, will feel an extra pull to have a drink because of these cues.People with an addiction do not have control over what they are doing, taking or using. Their addiction may reach a point at which it is harmful.Addictions do not only include physical things we consume, such as drugs or alcohol, but may include virtually anything, such abstract things as gambling to seemingly harmless products, such as chocolate – in other words, addiction may refer to a substance dependence (e.g. drug addiction) or behavioral addiction (e.g. gambling addiction).However, most addictive behavior is not related to either physical tolerance or exposure to cues. People compulsively use drugs, gamble, or shop nearly always in reaction to being emotionally stressed, whether or not they have a physical addiction. Since these psychologically based addictions are not based on drug or brain effects, they can account for why people frequently switch addictive actions from one drug to a completely different kind of drug, or even to a non-drug behavior.Addiction, often referred to as dependency often leads to tolerance – the addicted person needs larger and more regular amounts of whatever they are addicted to in order to receive the same effect. Often, the initial reward is no longer felt, and the addiction continues because withdrawal is so unpleasant.When referring to any kind of addiction, it is important to recognize that its cause is not simply a search for pleasure and that addiction has nothing to do with one’s morality or strength of character.Experts debate whether addiction is a “disease” or a true mental illness, whether drug dependence and addiction mean the same thing, and many other aspects of addiction. Such debates are not likely to be resolved soon.

The world’s view of gambling has very much changed over the last ten years, with your ‘average’ gambler more likely to be sat at a PC than walking to their local bookmaker to put a bet on. As online security gets tighter and customers start trusting sites with their credit card details the numbers of those joining the sites as opposed to visiting stores increases. Indeed the ‘fair-weather’ gambler who may have at one time only had a bet on the Grand National once a year now has the opportunity to put bets on for fun whenever they want to without the stigma of visiting a bookmaker which they may feel uncomfortable doing.This article will investigate whether an established company such as Ladbrokes needs to offer introductory offers to entice new customers, or whether they can get away with offering smaller free bets and survive in a congested market by reputation alone.Overall the largest betting company in the UK and largest retail bookmaker in the world is Ladbrokes who own over 2,400 retail betting shops divided between the UK and Ireland, with more shops in Spain and Belgium. It is one of the FTSE 250 listed companies and is over 125 years old – indeed after the war they were the first betting company to allow for fixed-odds football betting; a strategy that backfired when they lost £1 million on one day in 1963 due to a particularly predictable run of results in the First Division!When I first got interested in online gambling I thought it strange that the free Ladbrokes bet was just £10 as a matched offer. With recently formed bookmakers offering introductory bets of upwards of £200 at times, and a £50 free bet seeming to be the average for new customers, I wondered whether this was a mistake.However, looking at the site it obviously prides itself as being one of the more established bookmakers, with markets available on all sports, and many markets being available in-play during the events. The site also has links to other gambling games for those who wish to play on casino or poker games for a bit of fun. The branding for the company is also prominent throughout the site, with the unmistakable red background and white lettering being as bright as the signage that adorns their shop fronts.In 2008 Ladbrokes became the first betting firm to offer customers a loyalty scheme which rewarded punters with free bets via points gained. When launched as ‘Odds On’ customers got a point for every £1 spent although this has now been reduced to 1 point for every £2. As a marketing scheme this has allowed Ladbrokes to specifically target promotions specific to the betting patterns of the card holder. The loyalty card can only be used in store.And maybe that’s the key; Ladbrokes see their stores as their company flagship – one of those companies that will be diverse enough to have interests both online and on the high street but see their betting shop strategy and overall history as something they want to keep intact. And to be honest that’s something we should be encouraging these days.