Evangelicals in the UK have greeted new proposals submitted to provide regulation to problem gambling. The Gambling Commission has published the proposals in reaction to increasing concern regarding the issue, and the Evangelical Alliance has firmly backed the stance taken.

|TOP|However, despite the new proposals, the Evangelical Alliance is reaffirmed its concerns that the government remains yet to clarify its planning laws on casinos. The Alliance has issued a call to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to introduce promised changes so that sports clubs and cinemas cannot be converted into casinos without planning consent.

Gareth Wallace, Parliamentary Officer at the Evangelical Alliance, said, “We are pleased at the promised introduction of measures we have consistently called for; such as age controls, identity verification, breaks in play and self-exclusion schemes, all of which are intended to reduce the likelihood of people developing a gambling problem.

“However, we have concerns about mixed use leisure facilities where gambling runs cheek by jowl with family friendly activities and the sale of alcohol. I hope the Commission will ensure that customers cannot drift unawares into gambling areas or be encouraged to consume alcohol while playing. It is obvious that increasing the availability of gambling opportunities is likely to cause a rise in people having a gambling problem.”

He concluded, “There remains a strong fear that the Commission’s proposals are too little, too late to address rising levels of problem gambling and debt which are so detrimental to our communities and our economy.”

Already in January, the Evangelical Alliance expressed its grave concerns that the new head of the Gambling Commission has a distinct ‘liberal’ attitude towards the controversial industry.

|AD|Mr Peter Dean has recently taken over as department head for the government body that will regulate gambling in the public interest following a relaxation of the laws.

In an interview Dean suggested that the Gambling Commission should act as a laissez faire regulator which upholds the belief that regional casinos with million-pound slot machines are “not such a very big deal”.

The Parliamentary Officer at the Evangelical Alliance UK (EAUK), Gareth Wallace has expressed the organisation’s concerns, saying: “Over a year ago we warned Tessa Jowell that the Gambling Act risked opening a ‘Pandora’s Box’. She assured us at the time of the Government’s commitment to ensuring that the Bill does not cause an increase in problem gambling and we were dismissed as alarmist. Recent developments confirm our concerns.”

Following Dean’s interview, the EAUK has called on the Gambling Commission and the British government to present a precise clarification on what Dean’s promised “gambling prevalence study” involves.

In addition to this, the Alliance calls for an explanation as to how this would relate to the government’s express promise that “rigorous independent research” would be carried out regarding the issue to monitor the incidences of problem gambling.

EAUK’s Wallace concluded, “We must not forget that the initial batch of new casinos are ‘pilots’ for the purpose of the Government’s promised independent research into problem gambling. This is in addition to the baseline study that Peter Dean supposedly has in mind. It is to be hoped that such important research will be given the highest priority and not be construed as ‘onerous regulation’. The last thing we need is a weak and woolly Gambling Commission.”