Merson told us the experiment with Dr Erritzoe made him think about how his brain responds to gambling adverts.
“I think the adverts are triggers,” he says. “Now that I know more about how it can affect me, when the adverts come on, I turn them off.”
The government is currently reviewing the 2005 Gambling Act, which relaxed regulation around gambling adverts.
In response to the film, the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) said it did not recognise “many of the claims in the documentary” and “completely reject suggestions that our industry targets vulnerable customers”.
It added: “Since being set up as the standards body representing the regulated industry fewer than two years ago, the BGC has introduced a range of measures aimed at promoting safer gambling.
“These include reducing the number of VIP schemes by 70%, a whistle-to-whistle ban in TV betting commercials during live sport, while our members now ensure that at least 20% of their TV and radio adverts are safer gambling messages.”
William Hill also responded, saying it was “disappointed” in comments about betting advertising made in the documentary, adding: “We take the safety of our customers extremely seriously, and all of our adverts feature safer gambling messaging and instructions. We have also committed over 20% of our advertising on TV and radio to promote important safer gambling initiatives like deposit limits and timeouts.”
But Merson says safer gambling messages do not always work and that the onus should be on companies to set limits.
As part of its response, the BGC said “according to the government, the rate of problem gambling is 0.5%, while recent surveys from the Gambling Commission indicate that problem gambling rates are reducing”.
Research suggests the small number of problem gamblers may be at increased risk. Last year, the House of Lords found 60% of gambling companies’ profits came from the 5% of their users who are already problem gamblers, or are at risk of becoming so.
During the film, Merson meets Matt Zarb-Cousin, a recovered gambling addict who founded Clean Up Gambling, an organisation which lobbies for reforms to gambling laws.
He shows Merson evidence of how a gambling company harvests data once users have signed up.
Merson believes gambling companies have the tools to spot problem gamblers, and that they should be using these responsibly.
“The companies know who the problem gamblers are,” he says. “That’s what does my head in most. I can give you accounts where I was putting on 90 bets a day. Please don’t tell me that’s not a trigger.”
Merson says in the film that he is not advocating a ban on gambling because “there are people who can bet normally” but he does believe “betting companies are preying on ill people”.
The Gambling Commission said: “All gambling products must be marketed in a socially responsible manner and no free bets should be provided to anyone showing signs of harm.
“A failure to market gambling responsibly can lead to tough action from us.”