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More than 35,000 people say stop children gambling on fruit machines

More than 35,000 people across the UK say children should bebanned from gambling on fruit machines. But the Government remainsunwilling to make the necessary changes to the Gambling Bill toensure children are fully protected. In just five days more than35,000 people have signed a petition organised by The SalvationArmy, the Methodist Church and children's charity NCH and number ofsignatures continues to rise.

The Gambling Bill reaches its committee stage in the House ofLords on Thursday 10th March. An amendment to the bill has been putdown which would ban children from gambling on category D fruitmachines, while allowing them to carry on playing on teddy-beargrabbing machines and penny falls. Britain remains the only countryin the developed world that allows children to gamble.

"The response from the public has been overwhelming. To get thisnumber of responses in such a short space of time indicates thestrength of feeling on this issue, which frankly the Governmentseems to have underestimated," commented Jonathan Lomax from TheSalvation Army. "The Government has clearly said that children andgambling don't mix, yet they still will not act to ensure thatchildren are adequately protected from the dangers posed bygambling on category D fruit machines."

Currently as long as a child is tall enough to put their moneyin the slot they can gamble on category D fruit machines, despitethe fact that in an NOP poll 82% of respondents said that childrenand young people should not be allowed to gamble on fruit machines.Academics suggest that around 5% of British adolescents can beclassified as 'problem gamblers' - more than five times the adultprevalence of problem gambling.

"The Government has made some welcome moves to protect childrenfrom gambling, but whilst children are still allowed to gamble onfruit machines they will remain at greater danger of developing agambling problem," commented Rachel Lampard, from the MethodistChurch. "Problem gambling in children often results in truancy,criminal records, problems at school and family breakdown - allproblems which can permanently damage a child's growth anddevelopment. This is a serious child protection issue thatGovernment needs to recognise and act upon." 

Comments from members of the public have indicated not only thehigh level of feeling about children and gambling but also the manyways that families have been affected. People have commented ontheir own children becoming addicted to fruit machines and droppingout of college, and about other family members becoming addictedwhilst on family holidays.

The huge public response comes just two weeks after news thatflawed research commissioned by the Government had been heavilycriticised by leading academics and churches for grosslyunderstating the problem of adolescent gambling.

Evidence shows that there is no public demand for an increase ingambling opportunities created by the new legislation as an NOPPoll indicates that 93% of the public think there are alreadyenough opportunities to gamble.

The petition is available here

The Salvation Army and the Methodist Church have been campaigningon the Gambling Bill for more than 18 months for greater measuresto protect children and vulnerable people.