Big warnings won’t stop problem gambling, poll finds

SEVEN in ten Brits believe placing mandatory health warnings on betting products like those on cigarettes wouldn’t stop problem gambling, a poll shows.

Banning promotions such as free bets would also be ineffective at preventing such betting issues, according to nearly half of those polled for YouGov.

The measures have been touted by anti-gambling campaigners as means of cracking down to prevent gambling issues.

Ministers are considering introducing maximum stakes for online slot machines of between £2 and £5 and an age verification scheme so youths can’t take part.

Research released by the government last year revealed that 24.5 million people in England gambled in 2018.

Michael Dugher, boss of the Betting and Gaming Council, said: “Problem gambling rates in the UK are low and have fallen, but still the anti-gambling lobby – prohibitionists who just want to ban things – are pushing for draconian measures which will only stigmatise those who enjoy a harmless flutter.

“Measures like these, however well meaning, will only serve to drive punters from the regulated sector to the unsafe, unregulated gambling black market where the numbers betting have doubled in recent years and the amount staked is in the billions.

“Anti-gambling prohibitionists are determined to treat betting like tobacco and to treat punters like smokers – but these two things are worlds apart and should be regulated entirely differently.”