QAAD

QAAD is working with other faith-based groups to address gambling and problem gambling amongst children.  The UK is the only jurisdiction that allows children to gamble on any slot machines.  We oppose this because studies show that problem rates among young teenagers are about two to three times those among adults, and because those who later develop problems are more likely to have started gambling early.

Prizes on other games available to minors were raised to £50 in 2009, with the express aim of making them more attractive to children.  At the time of the 2005 Gambling Act, the government gave assurances that evidence of problems among children, and any increase in them, would be acted upon.  In the absence of a proper programme of research and monitoring of children’s gambling, this commitment can – and is being – abdicated.

The measures we are pressing for include:

• a prevalence study of gambling amongst children, to include both legal and illegal forms of gambling (five year studies are conducted on adult gambling, but no large-scale study with a representative sample is conducted among children).
• Regular research on problem rates among children and young people, and the forms of gambling associated with high rates of problems.
• Action on the results of such studies.
• A precautionary approach.