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Church plans special inquiry into Labour's gambling liberalisation

Church plans inquiry into gambling - Bloomberg News
Church plans inquiry into gambling - Bloomberg News

The Church of England yesterday unveiled plans for a special parliamentary inquiry into the “social damage” caused by Labour’s liberalisation of gambling laws more than a decade ago.

The Church says deregulation has spawned a gambling epidemic which risks increasing mental ill health, threatens to hook a generation of children and has enabled the industry to make millions from their businesses by exploiting tax laws.

“It has been a huge experiment,” said Alun Smith, the Bishop of St Albans, who speaks for the Church on gambling.

“We are normalising gambling across a whole generation with no understanding of what long-term effect it will have,” said Alun Smith, Bishop of St Albans and church spokesman on gambling.

Backed by senior peers from all parties at a private meeting yesterday, he is seeking to set up an ad hoc special inquiry under House of Lords rules to review the impact of the 2005 Gambling Act.

The Act allowed gambling companies to advertise on television and radio, lifted the ban on UK-based providers advertising and offering online gaming and increased the range of betting and gaming products.

The Rt Rev Smith said the inquiry would investigate the cost to the NHS from treating addicts with serious mental health problems, estimated to be as much as £1.2bn.

It is estimated there are 430,000 problem gamblers nationwide with the gambling commission revealing this week that 55,000 are aged under 17.

Another concern is gambling firms targeting viewers on TV and online with "live odds" bets on matches that can be watched by children. Rt Rev Smith said he was aware of families who had stopped their children watching big live matches because of the ads.

TELEMMGLPICT000170964309.jpeg - Credit: PA
Concern is growing over live sports betting and gambling advertising during games Credit: PA

Gaming firms have also been accused of targeting children by introducing gambling by stealth through loot boxes and the chance to win skins, virtual weapons.

“The companies are consciously developing games that give you the same sort of buzz that you get from winning money prizes. I can’t see how they can justify that. Is this actually something we want to experiment on with a generation of young people,” said Rt Rev Smith.

He said there had been huge move offshore by the industry, which meant the Treasury was losing millions in potential revenue.

“We are privatising the profits as they take the money offshore and nationalising the cost of treatment,” said Bishop.

Despite making millions in profits, gambling firms have given less than £10m to voluntary levy to pay for research, education and treatment.

Lord Chadlington, who is backing the move, said: We continue to be on the lip of a gambling epidemic in this country and the Government must step in.” Figures released to him showed the number of gambling addicts hospitalised in London had trebled to 50 in five years.

 “Gambling policy decisions and legislation must be based on substantial independent facts and this will be a positive step in widening the evidence base,” he added.