The UK's new gambling bill will reach its final legislative stage in the House of Lords on Thursday 10th March. The British government and high-level officials appear to be desperate to make the law effective in 2005. By staging a nationwide signing petition, the Methodist Church, Salvation Army and National Children’s Home (NCH) will make their final attempt to persuade the government to makes changes to the bill so as to protect children from gambling.

The three organisations in fact welcome part of the content of the new gambling bill. For instance, they agree with the establishment of a Gambling Commission, which will regulate all forms of gambling and the removal of fruit-machines from unlicensed venues. It is hoped that this will help prevent children playing on gambling machines in an unsupervised environment.

However, the new law will allow up to 8 regional mega-casinos which have unlimited stakes and prizes. In addition, Britain is one of the only western countries which allows children, of any age, to gamble. The government’s gambling law has also tended to overlook fruit machines that have low stakes and prizes, research has shown that they are one of the most addictive forms of gambling, because they enable people to stake money very rapidly and encourage them to chase their losses.

"Research states that around 5% of British adolescents have a problem with gambling, and The Salvation Army and the Methodist Church believe this represents a serious public health issue which the Government has failed to address," said Rachel Lampard, Secretary for Parliamentary and Political Affairs for the Methodist Church.

"It is very disappointing that the Government proposes to maintain Britain's unique position in the world in allowing children to gamble on fruit machines. The Gambling Bill in its present form fails to address this despite the Government agreeing that children and gambling don’t mix," said Jonathan Lomax, Public Affairs Officer for The Salvation Army.

"It is not too late for the Government to change the regulations relating to children and gambling. This petition will show the depth of feeling that there is in the country for this serious issue. The Government must take seriously its duty of child protection," Lomax added.

The petition is now available to sign on-line at www.salvationarmy.org.uk/petition and also available on hard copy. It was circulating in communities and churches across the country last weekend.

The Salvation Army and the Methodist Church, who have consistently argued for better protection for vulnerable people since the new gambling bill was drafted last year, encourages everyone to sign up. They aim to get as many signatures as possible by Tuesday 8th March.

The United Reformed Church is also in support of the petition.