A friend of mine is a recovering gambling addict who mentors young people with a similar problem. They are in ready supply, given television adverts that promote a potentially home-wrecking activity as a harmless bit of fun for those who can “bet responsibly”.

The gambling industry works hard to shake off social disapproval, but its words are not always conducive to that. The earliest term is “wager”. The noun is first recorded at the beginning of the fourteenth century, meaning a sum of money staked on the outcome of an uncertain event. It comes from an Old French verb, wagier, meaning to pledge.