UK Christian Institute calls to tame "wild west" gambling laws
The Christian Institute, a UK-based charity, has recently issued a call to Lisa Nandy, the newly appointed Culture Secretary, urging her to prioritize the reform of the UKs gambling laws. The Institutes Acting Director, in a letter to Nandy, expressed concern over the devastating impact of gambling on individuals and their families, stating, Gambling leaves far too many people locked into a spiral of debt and anxiety, significantly affecting both them and those they love. There is no escape from the endless incentives and the 24/7 바카라 in your pocket. It is high time for meaningful action.
The Christian Institute has identified three key areas where immediate action can be taken to regulate the industry more effectively:
Advertising: The Institute advocates for increased legislative restrictions on gambling marketing across all platforms. It also calls for further action to address gambling advertising, beyond the voluntary agreement by Premier League clubs to ban gambling logos from the front of matchday shirts from 2026.
Protecting Children: The Institute urges immediate action to hold the industry accountable for the continued exposure of under-18s to gambling.
Online Stakes: The Institute calls for a strict limit to be imposed on online stakes, similar to the reduction in maximum stakes on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) in 2018. It also highlights the lack of dedicated legislation for online gambling and the inadequacy of the 2005 Gambling Act for the current landscape.
Plea to protect vulnerable in modern Britain
Ciarn Kelly, Acting Director of The Christian Institute, (photo above), expressed his concerns about the pervasive nature of gambling in modern Britain, stating, Gambling has become an all-pervasive part of life in modern Britain. From gambling logos on football shirts to betting ads on social media, there is no escaping it. It exploits the most vulnerable and desperate in our society and disproportionately affects those with mental health issues. Even children are now being groomed to gamble.
Kelly welcomed the Governments manifesto pledge to reform gambling regulation and urged the Culture Secretary to act quickly to hold gambling firms to account. He added, There is too much of the wild west about the UKs current gambling laws. The time to act is now.
The Christian Institute has been campaigning for gambling reform for over two decades, including opposing the Gambling Act 2005 that created the current crisis. Research published by the charity GambleAware last month found that two-thirds of the British public are unhappy with the level of gambling advertising. The number of people seeking help for gambling problems rose by over 10,000 last year, according to the National Gambling Helpline.
In his letter to the Culture Secretary, Kelly concluded, When the Gambling Act 2005 was working its way through Parliament, The Christian Institute worked hard to try to improve the legislation. We warned of the damage that would come from deregulation. Those warnings were ignored and, sadly, many of our predictions have come true. Two decades on, there is an urgent need to bring gambling law up to date and improve protections for the vulnerable. We urge you to act quickly.
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