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Church encourages Government warning to gambling industry

27 February 2008

The Church of England has welcomed the Government’s decision not to license a regional supercasino. It has also encouraged Culture Secretary Andy Burnham MP to issue a warning to the industry that he will enforce a statutory levy to fund research into and treatment of problem gambling.

“The Culture Secretary is exactly right when he says it is unacceptable that only 360 out of 3,800 licensed operators have contributed to the Responsibility in Gambling Trust. The Government has eased restrictions on their industry, so the least they could do is to show responsibility in funding research into and treatment of the side-effects. Mr Burnham has every reason to put the funding on a statutory basis,” said Dr Philip Giddings, chairman of the Church’s Mission and Public Affairs Council.

“Full funding of the Trust becomes even more important given the increased risk of gambling addiction posed by the number of high stakes gaming machines being allowed in new casinos. Up to 20 £2 stake machines are currently allowed, while new smaller casinos will be allowed four times as many and larger ones will be allowed up to seven and half times as many.”

The Church of England General Synod recently wrote to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, having debated a Private Member’s Motion on gambling introduced by Mr Tom Benyon of Oxford Diocese on 12 February.

The following amended motion was passed by the Synod by 258 votes to 4 against with 9 abstentions.

'That this Synod, gravely concerned that the total national spend on gaming has risen in each year over the past four years from £4 to £40 billion:

(a) endorse the public opposition expressed by church leaders to the introduction of regional and large casinos, and encourage local churches to participate in local authority consultations on plans for new casino applications;

(b) declare its support for programmes of education, research and treatment undertaken with the aim of checking the growth in problem gaming, and request the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to invoke the powers granted by the Gambling Act 2005 to introduce a statutory levy on the gambling industry to fund such programmes;

(c) call upon Her Majesty's Government to monitor the addictive effects of Fixed Odds Betting Terminals and to seek an international framework for a code of conduct on internet gambling; and

(d) call upon the Mission and Public Affairs Council to report back to Synod by February 2009 on measures being taken by the churches to combat the detrimental effects of gambling in various forms.'