Fears of increase in gambling problems

Relaxing restrictions on slot machines and casino-building in Britain later this year could lead to rising numbers suffering from gambling problems, doctors and church leaders fear.

The British Medical Association (BMA) said earlier this month it was particularly concerned about adolescent gamblers and called for a review of whether slot machine gambling - popular among teenagers - should be banned to anyone under 18.

In a report on gambling addiction, the BMA said there were believed to be at least 300,000 people with gambling problems in Britain at present.

The Salvation Army and Methodist Church put the number even higher at 370,000.

In a joint statement, they called for new casinos to be monitored for adverse affects on their local community for up to five years, longer than the three years currently stipulated.

They were particularly concerned about so-called "regional" casinos - huge, Las Vegas-style supercasinos that will be able to have up to 1,250 unlimited jackpot fruit machines.

"There is no evidence to show what effect a regional casino may have on a UK community, but experience in the United States shows a rise in gambling-related debt, crime, bankruptcy and associated social problems including unemployment and family breakdown," they said.

A poll conducted for the Daily Telegraph found that 56 per cent of those interviewed believed the spread of casinos would increase problem gambling.

The BMA said gambling addiction can lead to anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts, as well as truanting and stealing among adolescent addicts.

It noted that the liberalisation was coming at the same time as a growth in internet gambling, with the potential for individuals to gamble anonymously non-stop without anyone checking on their activities. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) says problem gambling is relatively low in Britain and that children will only be able to play very low-jackpot slot machines.

"All gambling operators will have to identify, and if necessary approach, customers who may be affected by problem gambling and provide information about help available," it said.

The DCMS tightened a legal loophole to ban Internet gambling sites outside the European Economic Area and Gibraltar from advertising in Britain unless their home jurisdictions have won permission from the UK first.

Facts and figures about Britain's casinos

• Currently there are 137 casinos in Great Britain: 25 in London, 96 in the rest of England, 12 in Scotland and four in Wales, according to industry Web site Gamingfloor.com.

• The number of casinos in Britain fell around 90 per cent to about 120 after the 1968 Gaming Act introduced new measures to eradicate crime from gambling.

The Gambling Act of 2005 eased many of the restrictions and gave local authorities a range of new responsibilities including licensing premises and regulating the use of gaming machines.

• The Act allowed three new types of casinos to operate in Britain - one huge regional or "supercasino" along with eight large and eight small casinos.

The regional casino will have a minimum total customer area of 5,000 square metres and be allowed up to 1,250 unlimited jackpot gaming machines.

The one regional and eight large casinos will be permitted to offer bingo, and all three categories will be permitted to offer betting.

Prime Minister Tony Blair originally envisaged 20 to 40 of the big regional casinos but under sustained pressure from campaigners opposed to the social effects of gambling the number was cut back first to eight and eventually just one. Many newspapers over the past few weeks have speculated that it will not be long before more are approved.

• The Casino Advisory Panel (CAP) has the job of recommending where these casinos should be sited.

• Britain's gaming sector is regulated by the Gambling Commission, which aims to keep crime out of gambling, ensure it is conducted fairly and openly and to protect children and vulnerable people from being harmed or exploited by gambling.

• Since 2001, casinos have come under the remit of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, whose Secretary of State is currently Tessa Jowell. Before 2001, they were the responsibility of the Home Office.

• Larger casinos are represented by the British Casino Association but in 2001 a new body, the British Casino Operators Association, was formed by smaller companies.