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20 Apr 2004
Gambling Shake-Up 'Risks
Health'
Plans
to ease the regulation of gambling will mean more mental
health problems, one of the UK's leading health officials
has warned.
Public Health Association
chairman Geoff Rayner said the number of addicts could
double if the plans went ahead. It comes after MPs and Lords
warned the plans to allow Las Vegas-style casinos could
increase problem gambling. But Culture Secretary Tessa
Jowell has insisted the shake-up will be done in a "socially
responsible manner".
The plans to liberalise
the old gambling laws are currently before
parliament.
But speaking to BBC Radio
4's Today programme, Mr Rayner said: "There are major mental
health problems associated with the expansion of gambling."
He highlighted research by The Henley Centre, a strategic
marketing consultancy, which estimated the number of
gamblers could double to 750,000 people. "There are major
poverty problems because if you are putting a proportion of
your very meagre income into gambling, you are not actually
providing other things like fresh fruit and vegetables to
your children. I do think it flies in the face of the other
anti-poverty, pro-public health policies of this
government," he added.
Mr Rayner wants limits on
the size of casinos, clearer health messages about the
potential risks, more money to help gamblers in trouble and
Government targets on reducing the number of problem
gamblers.
The Salvation Army, which
has campaigned against liberalisation of gambling laws,
welcomed Mr Rayner's remarks. Spokesman Jonathan Lomax said:
"All reputable academics and an influential committee of MPs
and Lords agree that problem gambling is likely to rise as a
result of the extra gambling opportunities available in the
Gambling Bill. "Pressure must surely be mounting on Ms
Jowell to explain why she is one of the only people in the
UK who thinks that the numbers of problem gamblers will not
rise after gambling liberalisation."
But the minister for
gambling, Lord McIntosh, told the BBC: "The truth of the
matter is that UK casino gambling, is at most, 3% of the
population of this country. "Much more of this 150-page Bill
is actually increasing the controls on gambling. "It is
creating a gambling commission with greater powers to keep
out crime, to ensure fair play and to protect against
problem gambling - to protect vulnerable adults and
children."
Protecting
Children
The report from the
cross-party committee said the government's proposals should
be toned down, saying other countries had seen problem
gambling increase as a result of super-casinos. It called
for large "resort" casinos only to be built in areas of high
unemployment. It also recommended a strict limit on the
number of big prize slot machines allowed on the casino
floor.
Ms Jowell said: "What will
characterise the modernisation of what are widely recognised
as outdated gambling laws is not a free-for-all, as has been
misleadingly reported, but a very clear obligation on all
gambling businesses to act in a socially responsible
way."
Ms Jowell said the
government would respond to a 300-page report from the joint
committee on the draft Gambling Bill in the next two
months.
Source: BBC
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