Gambling News by House of Odds

The Evangelical Alliance has welcomed Professor Mark Griffiths' warning that
slot machines of whatever sized stake can be addictive and that vulnerable
children should not be allowed to use them. The alliance, representing more
than a million Christians in the UK has consistently maintained this view,
even when it was being hotly contested during the passage of the Gambling
Bill in both houses of Parliament. However, the government disagreed,
claiming that a ban would adversely affect seaside arcades. The EA states,
"This surely stood in direct conflict with Tessa Jowell's stated number one
priority for the Gambling Act of 'protecting children and the vulnerable'."
Christians in seaside towns have expressed anxiety about low educational
attainment locally, often exacerbated by truanting children in arcades.
Pastor Derrick Hill from Park Baptist Church, Great Yarmouth, said: "The
open door policy of seafront arcades is a honey trap for children of high
school age." The Evangelical Alliance is now calling on the government to
think again about allowing children to use slot machines in the light of
Professor Griffiths' recent comments. Gareth Wallace, Parliamentary Officer
at the Evangelical Alliance, said: "It is surely common sense that the
government should use its reserve powers under the act to stop children of
any age from gambling." Evangelicals are not the only ones that are fighting
against various forms of gambling. Just last month, the Church of England
continued its campaign to urge the public that advertisements promoting
gambling should have warnings about the danger of gambling addiction.
It states that the potential benefits of doing this "should outweigh the
disadvantage of extra financial costs for advertisers". The statement
questions whether the government's objectives for regulating advertisements
for gambling are realistic or achievable. It supports the government's
objective in the Gambling Act 2005 that "the reduction of harm should take
precedence over the maximisation of innovation, consumer choice and economic
gains," but questions how far "any regulatory framework" can achieve this
goal, "given the persuasive function and character of advertising".

The Church of England also calls on the Gambling Commission to make
compliance with advertising rules a condition of gambling operators'
licences.

Taking the same position as other churches, most prominently The Salvation
Army and the Methodist Church, the Church of England reiterated its
long-held concern for the potential damage to individuals and families if
more people become problem gamblers.

The submission also proposed a cap on the age of all models and actors
featured in, or at least playing a significant role in, the gambling
advertisements to 25 years of age as a guard against the potential for
youngsters to identify too easily with them and so make gambling more
attractive to them.