Sport is made for betting

Rogue traders are again in the news, manipulating the money markets in order to reap multi-million pound bonuses. Banks and hedge funds are the greediest gamblers of the lot. There's no social responsbility attached to the financial industries, unlike the gambling industry. And people think horse racing is bent..... Another Telegraph story You can bet your last pennies that there will be stories like this to come as the credit crunch continues...

And people thought betting on motor racing was dull - I'd much sooner bet on that than the price of wheat! £71m down the drain by a rogue trader The only difference between this and a problem gambler is that he was using someone else's money. The financial markets are just another form of gambling - they just have a much higher reputation because blokes in suits choose that form rather than Walthamstow dogs....

What a surprise. Inside an ultra-greedy bank, one of its traders gets way in above his head and loses the firm £3.65 billion, far surpassing the Nick Leeson effort in the early 90s with Barings Bank. The only thing that surprises me about this is that there are not more cases of this. People with addictions can be found in all walks of life. Too many people with addictive personalities get into gambling when it really is something they should steer well clear of. And all financial trading is is another form of gambling.... This trader has speculated, got it wrong, cooked the books to cover his tracks while he gambled more to solve the problem. And then the hole he dug in the first place got worse...and worse... and worse. The biggest mistake people make when betting is trying to chase losses - all it will do is send you to the poor house mighty quickly. Discipline is the most important trait for betting. Sometimes it just isn't your day - recognise it early and stop for the day. Wa...