30 January 2007
Monitor, evaluate and invest!
In light of today's announcement by the Casino Advisory Panel
that Manchester is the preferred location for the UK's first
supercasino, a challenge has been issued by The Salvation Army and
the Methodist Church, who have long campaigned on gambling
issues.
'We expect the government to keep to their promises of proper
monitoring and evaluation of the social as well as the economic
impact of these increased opportunities to gamble,' said
Lieutenant-Colonel Royston Bartlett, Secretary for Communications
for The Salvation Army.
'Unfortunately, evidence suggests that the new casinos along with
the increasing popularity of online gambling and the general
normalisation of gambling within this country, could result in many
more people developing a serious gambling addiction over an
extended period,' said Anthea Cox, Co-ordinating Secretary for
Public Life and Social Justice at the Methodist Church.
'The gambling industry and the government will benefit most from
the huge profits of these increased gambling opportunities. We are
challenging them to channel substantial resources to help those
many thousands, if not millions of people who will experience
problems,' said Ms Cox.
The new Gambling Act gives the green light to one regional casino,
8 large casinos and 8 small casinos. The one regional casino, or
so-called 'super casino', will contain hard forms of gambling that
have never been seen before in the UK, including unlimited-jackpot
machines. Machine gambling has highly addictive properties, and the
lure of mega-prizes can only further compound this danger.
There are already an estimated 370,000 problem gamblers in the UK
and the Methodist Church and The Salvation Army have long warned
that any increase in gambling opportunities could lead to a rise in
problem gambling. There is no evidence to show what effect a
regional casino may have on a UK community but experience in the US
shows a rise in gambling-related debt, crime, bankruptcy, and
associated social problems including unemployment and family
breakdown. The social costs of gambling extend far beyond the
individual gambler, impacting upon family, friends, employers,
communities and indeed the country as a whole. In an NOP poll
commissioned by The Salvation Army, 56% of the population, and 64%
of women, said they would not be happy for a casino to open where
they live*.
The Salvation Army and the Methodist Church campaigned during the
passage of the Gambling Bill, requesting greater measures to
protect children and vulnerable people, including limiting the
number of regional casinos to one, so that thorough research can be
done into its impact on the community it is built in.
'The Gambling Act includes provision for the proper monitoring of
the effects of these increased gambling opportunities and we will
be among those who will be keeping an eye on the situation to
ensure that the government keeps to its promises!' said Anthea Cox
from the Methodist Church.
'As it currently stands, the minimum evaluation period of three
years will be measured from the award of the first casino license
under the 2005 Act. Given that there could be a considerable amount
of time between the license being awarded and the casino actually
opening, the evaluation period could potentially be considerably
less than three years in real terms.'
'The Salvation Army and the Methodist Church are calling for a
monitoring and evaluation period of at least three years from the
time that the casinos open their doors, with a provision to
increase that monitoring to five years if required.'
'Much has been made of the potential economic benefit of casinos
but that needs to be balanced against the potential devastating
effects of problem gambling on individuals, families and
communities,' added Lieut-Colonel Royston Bartlett from The
Salvation Army.
'Britain is already fast becoming a culture obsessed with gambling.
Only through meticulous and objective evaluation of the social
effects of increased gambling over an extended period will we begin
to understand the long term damage that may result from the
increased availability of gambling products made possible under by
the new 2005 Gambling Act.'
'Whilst the government has promised monitoring they must also be
committed to action if it is proved that the increased
opportunities to gamble are indeed ruining lives, and communities.
It is also vital that resources for education, prevention and
treatment are made available and both the government and the
gambling industry must be prepared to foot the bill.'
* NOP poll was conducted by telephone between 28-30th November 2003
amongst a nationally representative sample of 973 adults aged 18
and over.