Clamp down on gambling in lockdown
80% BACK LIMITS TO STOP SPIKE IN ADDICTION
STRICT new betting rules are being called for as online gambling spikes in lockdown.
Over eight in ten Brits want limits on single stakes and deposits into accounts to play online games like roulette, slot machines and virtual sports.
Currently online stakes are unlimited, unlike on fixed-odds betting terminals and other machines.
The Gambling Commission said more than six in ten players are spending more time or money on online games since lockdown began.
Increases in play of online slot machines is up 25 per cent, web poker is 38 per cent higher and virtual sports has risen by 40 per cent.
The regulator is ordering operators to tighten up on bonuses and promotions, increase warnings on display and toughen up checks on customers. It found 1.2 per cent of people who gamble develop an addiction which rose to 9 per cent with online games.
Carolyn Harris, chairwoman of the Gambling Related Harm All Party Parliamentary Group said online stake limits are especially important when many vulnerable people are isolated at home. The MP for Swansea East added: “There are few measures to protect vulnerable gamblers. This has got to stop.”
Matt Gaskell, who runs the NHS Northern Gambling Clinic, says online slots are the most common problem.
In Belgium, a £500 a week limit is imposed. In Spain, firms can only advertise between 1am and 5am.
The Betting and Gaming Council said: “This week the Gambling Commission reported there is no evidence of an increase in problem gambling. “But from day one of this Covid crisis BGC members have stepped up safer gambling messages and interventions to protect people across all platforms including online.”
There are few measures to protect vulnerable gamblers
25% Increase in playing of online slot machines since lockdown began
38% Increase in playing of online poker since the lockdown began
40% Increase in playing of virtual sports since the lockdown began