Gambling issues invariably cause controversy but one area that seems to get almost universal condemnation is the provision in the Gambling Act 2005 for children to play the Category D jackpot machines commonly known as fruit machines. This despite the Government’s avowed intention to protect children and the vulnerable from gambling harm. The maximum bet may be 10p and the maximum prize £5, but studies have found sufficient evidence that the machines can cause gambling problems both in childhood and in later adult life.

Over the last couple of days the Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph newspapers have somewhat predictably, owing to their obvious anti-gambling views, published lengthy articles by their political correspondents criticising the Government stance on fruit machines. They report Professor Mark Griffiths’ submission to the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) that there is overwhelming evidence that adolescent gambling can have disastrous consequences. Professor Griffiths is a leading academic authority on gambling.

Whilst broadly approving the deregulation of Britain’s gambling laws, unlike the above publications, CasinoCompendium has always maintained that the interests of arcade operators with ‘traditional’ gambling games should not outweigh the duty of care to the nation’s children. It is surely naïve of the DCMS to keep insisting that the case for a total ban has not been proved and that the removal of fruit machines from chip shops and taxi offices will suffice for the moment. In August we reported on a study from Glasgow Caledonian University that highlights the adverse affect that arcade gaming has on Scottish children – 1 in 10 with a gambling problem.

As the new gambling law is written, Category D machines are neither limited in number nor required to be in venues with operator or premises licences. Children can feed the machines for as long and as often as they like; limiting stake and prize money will have no effect on limiting potential gambling problems. Of all the countries with gambling legislation it would seem that Britain is about unique in allowing its children freedom to gamble. Freedom is actually being curtailed in so many areas by so many causes, some justifiable and some not, but most people would surely agree that gambling for children is one freedom that would not be missed. (E-11.07.06)

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