Doctors fear a surge in young gamblers

13 April 2012

Doctors warned yesterday of a gambling explosion among youngsters lured by supercasinos and Internet gaming.

They fear that new laws which ease restrictions and permit expansion of casinos from September will expose more youngsters to harm.

The warning follows a leaked Metropolitan Police study - revealed in the Mail yesterday -saying supercasinos could encourage betting by vulnerable groups.

Yesterday's report from the British Medical Association's Board of Science says that a planned supercasino is of particular concern.

It is feared the site's 5,000-square-metre gaming area filled with 1,250 unlimitedjackpot slot machines will attract young adults in droves.

Doctors on the board have also questioned whether tougher controls will be needed on under-18s.

But the report points out that preventing underage gaming is 'difficult, if not impossible' because children can use a parent's credit or debit card on a remote gambling service.

Remote gambling has doubled since 2001, including the Internet, mobile phone and interactive television games.

Among the attractions are the availability of 'virtual cash' from credit cards, unlimited access and anonymity.

Women are increasingly important in the remote gambling market, says the report, making up 30 per cent of visitors to Britishbased betting websites during the 2006 World Cup.

In total, around 300,000 problem gamblers have been identified but doctors believe the true figure is larger, with families plunged into debt, homes repossessed and gamblers prey to a range of other addictive behaviours.

The BMA has demanded £10 million a year from the gambling industry - up threefold from the current levy - to fund research and treatment but claimed it may need more.

Head of science and ethics, Dr Vivienne Nathanson, said: 'Problem gambling is associated with a number of health problems and the BMA is concerned that there are insufficient treatment facilities available.'

The report says more funding for Health Service treatment programmes should come from the industry.

It is meant to hand over £3million a year for treatment and prevention programmes but that figure apparently needs to be tripled to at least £10million a year, or just over £30 per identified problem gambler.

Dr Nathanson said: "The danger is that with an explosion in Internetand 24-hour gambling we could see a very significant rise in problem gambling."

The report, Gambling Addiction And Its Treatment Within The NHS, comes after similar concerns were expressed by GPs at last year's annual BMA meeting.

LibDem culture, media and sport spokesman Don Foster said: "This report highlights just how inadequate the Government's approach to services for gambling addiction has been."

A Department of Health spokesman said: 'Anybody with a gambling problem who seeks help from the NHS will be offered support and, if necessary, treatment.

The protection of children and vulnerable people is one of the key objectives of the Gambling Act.'

Ministers have been accused of burying a report which warned that Labour's gambling reforms would cause a significant rise in gaming addiction.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport commissioned a report from Australian academics hoping to contradict warnings that addiction levels could double.

But when the 2005 report concluded those warnings were 'plausible', ministers ignored it, according to a forthcoming Channel 4 Dispatches documentary.

The findings were never announced instead were slipped on to the department's website.

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