A Reddit user in Montreal thought they were ending their Chinese meal with the usual lighthearted fortune cookie wisdom — until they flipped the strip of paper over and found something very different.
Instead of the typical "lucky numbers," the back of the fortune was stamped with a gambling ad for a casino.
The post, shared to r/CanadianConservative, shows how marketing is everywhere these days.
"Kind of crazy how betting promos have slipped into places you'd never expect sports broadcasts, billboards, and now even dinner," the original poster wrote. "What do you all think is this just harmless marketing or has it gone too far?"
This moment touched a nerve because it highlights a bigger problem in today's society — the constant stream of ads encouraging us to consume more, bet more, and buy more. Not only does excessive consumption drain people's budgets — especially when they're encouraged to buy stuff they don't really need — but it has real environmental consequences.
Every extra product manufactured and every promotional trinket or printed insert drives additional planet-warming pollution and feeds the cycle of overproduction that's already straining our planet. And as promotional merch, fast-food toys, useless company swag, and glossy mailers pile up, they inevitably end up in landfills that are filling faster than cities can manage.
This problem has sparked resistance from people who are over the "buy-buy-buy" mentality. Buy Nothing groups bring communities together to support a circular economy and help individuals save money by borrowing or being gifted items for free. These also help declutter homes without throwing out perfectly usable items.
Shopping at thrift stores is another great way to save money while preventing waste and excess manufacturing. People have even found exciting treasures that can be flipped for a profit — from valuable jewelry to high-end art supplies and normally pricey electronics.
Commenters didn't hold back their reactions.
One wrote, "It's gone way too far. There's betting ads everywhere now, as you said. Given how s*** the economy is right now, it is kinda the perfect storm for young people to become addicted to gambling."
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Cheaper clothes 🤑 Another added, "I feel like gambling, and sports betting specifically, has gotten way worse the past few years. This is true especially I think among gen z."
A third joked, "Lol, a better one would have been 'a fool and their money will soon be parted,' with the online gambling ad on the other side."
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