Online Gambling a £2bn Business

In Britain alone gambling addiction has been on the rise as it reaches nearly one million. In six year period it has doubled and MPs are interested in passing legislation to prevent the ever growing advertising and promotions offered by online gaming operators.

According to Dr Henrietta Bowden-Jones, founder and director of the National Problem Gambling Clinic, said more women are gambling than ever before. "The proliferation of online gambling has brought into the home an activity that was historically male-dominated."

The Labour MP Kelvin Hopkins said problem gambling was now as serious an issue as alcoholism. "I have been very concerned about alcoholism for a long time, but problem gambling is just as bad. I have two close friends – , university-educated people – who are compulsive gamblers and now every penny they have has to be controlled by their wives.

"I have said in Parliament that the fixed-odds machines that you get in betting shops are like crack cocaine, but so is this [online gambling]. At least with other forms of gambling you have to go out of the house to do it. You can't lose your life savings playing bingo, but on the internet you can go on and on."

The Government last month proposed a Gambling Bill for licenses and advertising that would amend the 2005 Act under the Tony Blair administration.

The new proposed Bill is an “an important step to help address concerns about problem gambling” according to the Government. The Gambling Bill is due to be introduced in the third session.