{"id":1472,"date":"2007-01-18T18:45:39","date_gmt":"2007-01-18T18:45:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/?p=1472"},"modified":"2025-07-10T08:59:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T07:59:10","slug":"bma-warns-of-gambling-epidimic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/index.php\/bma-warns-of-gambling-epidimic\/","title":{"rendered":"BMA Warns of Gambling Epidimic"},"content":{"rendered":"

Forthcoming plans to relax gambling laws may increase the amount of problem gamblers, warns the British Medical Association.<\/p>\n

In a report released on 15 January, the BMA expressed concern about the potential rise in adolescent gambling addiction.\u00a0 They also drew attention to the links between gambling and violence, drugs and alcohol addiction among young people.<\/p>\n

Already, there is an estimated 300,000 problem gamblers, with symptoms ranging everywhere from physical and mental health difficulties to problems with employment, finances and relationships.\u00a0 This figure is expected to skyrocket as casinos begin opening throughout Britain later this year.<\/p>\n

Professor Jim Orford criticised the government for being \u2018na\u00efve\u2019 and \u2018playing dice with people\u2019s health\u2019.\u00a0 He said: \u2018We could be talking about a million people affected by it in any one period of 12 months, and that begins to put it on a par with drug addiction problems.\u2019<\/p>\n

Doctors fear our health system is unprepared for the explosion in problem gamblers when our laws are relaxed this September.\u00a0 They have asked the gambling industry to invest \u00a310m a year on research and treatment to help gambling addicts.<\/p>\n

\u2018There needs to be treatment for problem gambling available on the NHS similar to drug and alcohol services\u2019 said Vivienne Nathanson, of the BMA.<\/p>\n

Government Suppresses Key Study<\/strong><\/h3>\n

On the same day that the BMA report was released, the Daily Mail revealed a leaked study by the Metropolitan Police, showing that a supercasino will attract organised crime and encourage children to bet.<\/p>\n

The Government has sustained sharp criticism for suppressing the report.<\/p>\n

\u2018It is astonishing that such a vital report should have been suppressed\u2019 said Hugo Swire, Tory culture spokesman.<\/p>\n

Pressure group, Christian Voice, has criticised the Government for turning a blind eye to gambling problems in its eagerness to share the profits.\u00a0 \u2018The UK gambling industry may be harmful to families and communities, but it has been a goldmine for the Labour Government\u2019, the organisation announced last year on their website.<\/p>\n

Researchers from the University of Trent estimated that upcoming changes in gambling laws will provide the National Treasury with an extra \u00a33 billion a year. Government\u2019s rich friends have also benefited significantly.\u00a0 On 23 April, the Times reported that Britain\u2019s gambling boom has fuelled a 20% increase in the combined wealth of the country\u2019s super-rich \u2013 \u2018an extraordinary tripling in wealth of the country\u2019s 1,000 richest people under Labour\u2026\u2019<\/p>\n

The Government would prefer for the UK gambling industry to grow at an even faster rate.\u00a0 Tony Blair originally proposed 8 supercasinos, but was forced by the Tories to reduce the number to 1.\u00a0 However, documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that the Government may plan to introduce more supercasinos after the public has time to adjust to the idea.<\/p>\n

Tessa Jowell, who is responsible for the Gambling Act, wrote in 2004 that \u2018gambling is a massive, global industry and is entitled to a regulatory framework that ensures continued growth.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Robin Phillips and his son Matthew pass out anti-casino leaflets following plans for a casino to be built in their area<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Further Reading<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Gambling vs. Scripture<\/a><\/p>\n

Why Government is Addicted to Gambling<\/a><\/p>\n

BMA Warns of Gambling Epidimic<\/a><\/p>\n

Gambling and Government Corruption<\/a><\/p>\n

Gambling and the Community<\/a><\/p>\n

All Articles About Gambling<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Forthcoming plans to relax gambling laws may increase the amount of problem gamblers, warns the British Medical Association. In a report released on 15 January, the BMA expressed concern about the potential rise in adolescent gambling addiction.\u00a0 They also drew attention to the links between gambling and violence, drugs and alcohol addiction among young people. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[184],"tags":[170],"class_list":["post-1472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uk-christian-constitution","tag-casinos"],"aioseo_notices":[],"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Robin","author_link":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/index.php\/author\/robin\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"UK Christian Constitution<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Forthcoming plans to relax gambling laws may increase the amount of problem gamblers, warns the British Medical Association. In a report released on 15 January, the BMA expressed concern about the potential rise in adolescent gambling addiction.\u00a0 They also drew attention to the links between gambling and violence, drugs and alcohol addiction among young people.…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1472"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1472\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}