Gambling peril for 2 million hooked or risking addiction
TWO million gamblers are hooked on their habit or at risk of addiction, a watchdog warned yesterday.
More than 400,000 of them are already problem punters, with regulators demanding tougher action to prevent people becoming addicts.
A 68- page report by the Gambling Commission found that 0.8% of the adult population can now be classed as having a gambling problem, while 3.9% are “at risk”. Researchers found 63% of adults gambled in the past year. Two- thirds of men are likely to gamble, compared with 59% of women. The most popular gambling activities were playing the National Lottery (46%), buying scratch cards (23%) and other lotteries (15%). Commission executive director Tim Miller warned: “More needs to be done to address problem gambling.”