FOBTS AND SPREADBETTING CAUSES OF PROBLEM GAMBLING CONCERN IN UK (Update)

21 September 2007

But the overall number of problem gamblers is not rising


The encouraging news that the incidence of problem gambling has not grown over the past 8 years aside, a closer look at the Gambling Prevalence report released by the UK Gambling Commission today shows that, after the national lottery, video betting machines in bookie shops (FOBTs) and spread betting are areas of concern regarding problem gambling.

The study showed that 0.6 percent of the + 9 000 respondents were problem gamblers, equating to around 250 000 people in Britain and little changed from the last broad study in 1999, reports the Reuters news agency. The study was designed to be representative of Britain's adult population of 32 million.

Spread betting was cited as an area of concern on problem gambling, at 14.7 percent. Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs), the touch screen roulette and bingo video machines in bookmakers' shops, were a problem for 11.2 percent of those that used them.

The study, carried out by UK research specialist NatCen, looked at all forms of gambling ranging from betting in casinos and on the Internet to playing bingo and the National Lottery, which was the most commonly used gambling vehicle.

It is the first wide scale study into gambling in Britain since 1999, and the government has said it will use the results as evidence for policy and legislation to cut gambling addiction and as a benchmark for future studies.

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