Net Casinos 'could create one million addicts each year'
By
Steve Doughty
D.Mail -Social Affairs
Correspondent-Nov.25-2006
ONLINE betting is likely to
create more than a million gambling addicts in a year, an expert warned
yesterday.
The numbers of these involved will put
the problem on a par with drug abuse, professor Jim Orford said.
Professor Orford is the latest in a
string of high-profile academics who have made alarming predictions
about the effects of the Government's new gambling laws.
For the first time online gambling
companies will be allowed to be based in Britain.
Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell wants to
make this country the world centre of online gambling and is attempting
to establish international agreement on regulation of Internet gambling
on regulation of Internet betting.
A proliferation of online betting
operations in Britain would come on top of a sevenfold increase in the
amount of gambling on sports events since Chancellor Gordon brown
abolished tax on betting five years ago.
Online gambling, which currently
accounts for about £1 billion of the £50 million a year spent by Britons
on gambling is likely to grow rapidly when Labour's 2005 Gambling Act
comes into force next week.
At present, Internet betting firms
are based off-shore, mainly in the Caribbean or Gibraltar.
According to
research by the Nielson/Net Ratings organization, gambling sites are
already attracting visits from six million Britons a month -a number far
in excess of the one million regular online gamblers identified in a
Government -sponsored study last month.
Professor Orford of Birmingham
University , told the BBC's Panorama Programme:
'Gradually we're going to realize
it's a bigger problem than we thought.
'More people are going to know friends
and family members who've got problems. Health authorities are going to
be under pressure to provide treatment.'
He added:
'We could be talking about a million
people affected by it in any one period of 12 months, and that begins to
put it on a par with drug addiction problems.'
Addiction specialists fear the impact
of online gambling because players can use betting sites alone and in
private and stake large sums of money with no restraints beyond the
limits of their credit cards.
A series of high -profile court
cases have given powerful illustrations of the dangers to individuals.
Last month , 48-year -old financial adviser Philip Smith was jailed for
nine years after stealing £2.3 million from his clients to fund his
addiction.
A REPORT last month commissioned by
MINISTERS said that there are around a million Internet gamblers in
Britain and that each spends at least £1000 a year. They play on 2,300
Internet gambling sites.
Minister of SPORT Richard Caborn told
Panorama:
'We have, I believe acted
responsibly in bringing in an Act on to the statute book which has three
basic principles on which it is based; protecting the vulnerable,
keeping it crime-free, and making sure that those who have a bet will be
paid out and it'll be A FAIR BET.
'That is what it is predicted on
because we believe gambling is now part of our leisure industry.'
[Well he would say that wouldn't he -
but to take the word of any Minister of the present Government would be
a dangerous and stupid thing to do when one looks at their record over
the last nine years. The gap between the poorest and the richest in our
society has widened significantly and therefore it is obvious that they
are the vulnerable who could be enticed into the mistake of a life-time.
Look at their record in their handling
of the Drink-Drugs-Teenage Pregnancy- Illiteracy -Obesity- and now
Gambling many other areas where
they insisted that they knew best and after spending BILLIONS on their
crazy schemes the problems are worst than ever. Sensible legislators
always look for the 'mean' as the way to go because if anyone is intent of
satisfying their needs they will do so. It is not the job of the
Government to pile on the agony and then afterwards say that it was only
a pilot scheme and anyway they said they were sorry and will change the
law. We have been here before with New Labour and we hope people
have seen through their disguise as the servants of the People whereas a
number of the so-called Do-Gooders who think they know best and others will laugh their way to the BANK.
*
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[Font altered-bolding & underlining
used -comments in brackets]
NOVEMBER/06
*
THE PEOPLE HAVE
SPOKEN-IS THE EU COMMISSION LISTENING?
*
Ditch the EU
TREATY after IRISH REJECTION
SAY VOTERS
by
Daniel
Martin
Political
Reporter
[Daily Mail-Wednesday, June
18,2008]
MORE THAN HALF of voters believe Britain should
drop the controversial European Treaty in the wake of its
rejection in last week's
IRISH REFERENDUM'
The poll comes as the Tories launch a last-ditch
bid in the
HOUSE of LORDS
today to delay the
RATIFICATION OF
THE TREATY.
And
10,000 people
have signed a
PETITION
on the
DOWNING STREET-
WEBSITE
within the past few days
JUNE16-2008
, calling on the
GOVERNMENT
NOT TO RATIFY THE BILL
[WHY DON'T YOU?]
Downing Street
website is
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Abandon-Lisbon/
*
JUNE 18-2008
|
*
*
13th October,2007
So You Want Out
Of The EU
THEN WHY NOT SIGN THE
RENUNCIATION of EU CITIZENSHIP
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Optout
Details from petition creator
With the signing of the Maastricht
Treaty the people of Britain were given
DUAL CITIZENSHIP
-both
EUROPEAN and BRITISH
The extra tier of citizenship was
thrust upon the people without their consent -and in many cases
knowledge.
The PEOPLE of GREAT BRITAIN should be
allowed the option of opting out of the EUROPEAN CITIZENSHIP if they so
wish. The GOVERNMENT will then be able to provide those who have opted
out with
BRITISH DOCUMENTATION
-only such as British (not EU)
passports, driving licences and other national documents.
EU laws will also NOT APPLY to those who
HAVE OPTED OUT OF EUROPEAN CITIZENSHIP
[PETITION OPEN UNTIL
OCTOBER 08]
*
*
www.thewestminsternews.co.uk
*
www.speakout.co.uk
*
Daniel Hannan - Forming an OPPOSITION
to the EU
www.telegraph.co.uk.blogs
*
GORDON BROWN WANTS TRUST-BUT WHY WON'T
HE TRUST YOU?
HELL ON EARTH IN IRAQ
*
67% want powers back from
EU-ICM poll-June 21-2007-95%
of British people want a
REFERENDUM
*
PETITION
FOR A
REFERENDUM
SIGN TODAY ON LINE
telegraph.co.uk/eureferendum
*
July 18-2007
ALSO
JOIN THE 10 DOWNING STREET PROTEST
Readers can add their support to the growing clamour for a REFERENDUM
on the '"REFORM TREATY" by signing up to a 10 Downing Street 0n-line
petition
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/EU-treaty-NON/
The Petition reads as follows:
"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to
guarantee that the British people will be permitted a binding REFERENDUM
on any and all attempts to resurrect the EU " CONSTITUTION" (and any or
all of its content) regardless of nomenclature."
Deadline for the PETITION is 31st
January,2008
Eurofacts 27th July 2007.
*
'The Spirit
of England'
by
Winston
Churchill
In London on St.George's Day -1953
*
VOTE
-2007
TO
LEAVE
THE
EUROPEAN
UNION
WITH THE ONLY PARTY WITH A MANDATE
TO SET YOU
FREE
THE
UK
INDEPENDENCE PARTY
www.ukip.org
THE QUESTION THAT THE
VOTER MUST ANSWER
‘DO
YOU WISH TO BE GOVERNED BY YOUR OWN PEOPLE, LAW AND CUSTOM OR BY THE
CORRUPT ,EXPENSIVE UNACCOUNTABLE AND CORRUPT ALIEN BUSYBODY BRUSSELS’
-SIMPLE IS IT NOT?
TO RECLAIM YOUR DEMOCRACY DON'T VOTE
FOR THE TRIPARTITE PARTIES IN WESTMINSTER
BUT
SMALL PARTIES THAT SPEAK THEIR MINDS
WITHOUT SPIN AND LIES.
*
ONLY
PRO-PORTIONAL
REPRESENTATION
WILL
BRING
DEMOCRACY
BACK
TO
THE
ENGLISH
PEOPLE
*
SCOTLAND
-ITS PARLIAMENT -WALES-ITS
ASSEMBLY-ENGLAND-STILL
AWAITS ITS PARLIAMENT-WHY?
*
Home
Rule
for
Scotland
WHY
NOT
HOME
RULE
for
ENGLAND
*
[All underlined words have a
separate bulletin
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