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Poker.co.uk - Poker News Archive

Friday 8th February 2008

Scottish MP Calls for Gambling Addiction Tax

A report from the UK-based ‘Sunday Mail’ newspaper has called for a tax to be applied on all gambling firms operating in Scotland. The Scottish National Party MP said, 'It is simply not acceptable for gambling firms to make a fortune in profits from the Scottish people while largely ignoring their social responsibility to help educate people of the dangers of gambling and contribute to the treatment of gambling addicts.'

A provision in the 2005 Gambling Act allows gaming operators to make voluntary payments to a fund to combat gambling addiction, but the contributions to the fund last year was disappointing. Despite senior industry executives suggesting payments were made to the fund to meet social responsibility obligations, the amount raised last year was only half of the expected �4 million. Gibson has called on Westminster to allow the Scottish Parliament to make the contribution compulsory.

Considering that it was estimated UK gamblers lost �3.5 billion last year, with �350 million of that being lost in Scotland alone, the �4 million donation seems to be a drop in the gambling ocean. These figures don’t include any losses made in Bingo Halls, on the Lottery, or in brick and mortar casinos. The amount of money an average UK citizen spends on gambling has more than doubled since 2001.

The 2005 Gambling Act has allowed operators to adopt a very flexible approach to how they do business in the UK, with advertising of bookmakers and poker rooms now allowed on UK television. Professor Leighton Vaughn Williams from the Betting Research Department of Nottingham Business School thinks this is the primary cause of the rise of gambling culture in the UK:

'The advent of the National Lottery had a lot to do with de-stigmatising gambling. Cable TV, with more sport screened so people can bet while a match or race is on. Problems with gambling must be addressed directly. You do have some people who have problems with gambling. But you don't solve the problem by shutting your eyes to it; you solve it by regulating the industry.'

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Source: OnlineCasinoNews

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