joannacassidy-com

© flydime

A former parish priest who had a gambling habit that his attorney described as akin to demonic possession was sentenced to 60 days in jail for stealing at least $295,000 from his church to fuel that habit. John Regan admitted to gambling away at least $264,000, though prosecutors put the number closer to $410,000
John Regan, 47, faced a prison sentence of up to 15 years after he pleaded guilty to gambling away the money donated from his parishioners. Regan was placed on four years' probation and ordered to abstain from gambling.
After being sentenced, the priest was apologetic and said he could not control the theft because he was addicted to gambling. He had undergone eight months of therapy to control his gambling addiction.

© khesanhkid

Ausaf Umar Siddiqui who worked for Fry's Electronics known as Mr. S, all around Las Vegas Casinos, has landed into trouble due to his erratic gambling habits. He has filed for Bankruptcy stating a debt of $137 million due to his money lost in gambling.
Due to intensive gambling, his bankruptcy file lists he owes $11.5 million to MGM Grand Hotel, $5.7 million to Caesar's Palace, $2.3 million to the Palms Casino Resort and $1 million to Hard Rock and many unknown casinos in Britain and Connecticut.
Robert Rivas, attorney of two of the creditors stated that it was not a surprise seeing the way Siddiqui was addicted to gambling and filed Bankruptcy but the figures were surprising. He has filed for protection under chapter 7 Bankruptcy law and has pleaded not guilty but the trail in February would decide the consequences he has to face due to his excessive gambling.

© Idolised Media

In a new trend, the marketers are targeting kids through online games by enticing them about their products. These online games generally encourage kids to earn and spend virtual money on their virtual toys.
According to James McNeal, author of "Kids as Consumers: A Handbook of Marketing to Children", kids are very influential in determining the expenditures of a house till the age of 16. The market for this is estimated at $1.12 trillion and is attractive for all sorts of marketing including through online games.
With kids spending more time on computers and smartphones compared to TV, it is also getting difficult for parents to manage these online games which involve kids clicking on random ads just to earn virtual money. These online games are a release for marketers who face marketing guidelines in other mediums and are now using the online medium as avenues for targeting children. Even though many parents have ad blockers on their browsers but the marketers manage to fit them in the content such that they are accessible.