Jim Stewart

October 2006

Ceredigion Gambling Policy - comments on casinos

Evangelical Alliance Wales has concerns about the moral impact of casinos and recognise the harm that problem gambling and gambling addiction causes. Gambling affects the lives of millions - 72% of the population taking part in gambling activity in the previous year in a study published in 2000 - and yet we agree in particular with the objective in the Gambling Act to protect children and other vulnerable persons . Recently, doctors in Scotland warned that supercasinos could lead to a huge increase in gambling addiction. GamCare, the gambling addiction charity, similarly saw the referrals that it received from their help-line published in literature in bookmakers rise from 16.4% in 2004 to 19.5% in 2005.

• The presence of a casino would have a negative impact on the quality of life on the inhabitants of many people of the County. Because of the perceived connection with crime and disorder , being regularly highlighted in both the tabloid and broadsheet media, many residents' happiness would be affected. We are in agreement with the point 5 of the draft Statement of Gambling policy document where an actual link is made between Licensed Premises and crime and disorder .
  
  The presence of a casino in Ceredigion would be at odds with the image that it has as a family holiday destination and as a place to live. People often choose the County as a place to spend their holiday because of its tranquillity and rural beauty. Although links to crime and disorder are not true in every case, in people's minds there is a link and thus the establishment of a casino would send the wrong signals to both the inhabitants of the County and people considering visiting or moving to the County. The mayor of Riga in Latvia has recently been in the news, criticising the behaviour (e.g. drunkenness) of many of the British tourists that have been coming to visit this historic city. The choice of European capitals as the location of stag weekends has been largely fuelled by low-cost air travel. The combination of rising air prices and the escalating cost of the average stag weekend could easily lead to a reversal in trends and to many more people opting to spend their stag weekends in UK resorts. The presence of a casino could easily be a determining factor. While a smaller element of the community would welcome the arrival of a casino, the impact on the vast majority would be negative.
   
• Because casinos are becoming more prevalent in the UK, and pressure may be ongoing to grant a license in the future, we would advocate that the Licensing Authority observe and study places in the UK, similar to Ceredigion demographically, that have been granted a license to see what the longer term affects are, both positive and negative. Research into gambling is still ongoing - the Gambling Commission, for example, will be publishing a report in 2007 on gambling's prevalence . As we learn more about gambling, our decisions will be more informed; in the meantime, we would strongly advocate a cautious approach to granting licences. We strongly endorse and support Ceredigion Council's inclination " to prohibit casinos in the County" .
   
• The Alliance is aware of the responsibility of casinos and gambling institutions to educate their clients. We would advocate strongly that, where consideration " either now or in the future"  is given to grant a licence for a casino, the Licensing Authority would be satisfied that the establishment has a practical and thorough programme for helping clients with gambling problems. Topics that would need to be covered would include:
  
  
  • The provision of leaflets on display that include a help-line number and that covered relevant points to help people identify their problem.
     
  • Training being given to staff to enable them to recognise problem gambling and gambling addiction.
     
  • A strategy for developing networks within the community so that clients who are under stress will be able to access counselling services and/or agencies immediately.
  • Demonstrating knowledge of other programmes that have been tried in other parts of the UK. e.g. the "self-exclusion" policy operated by Gala Casinos .
     
• In such a case, a steering group made up of relevant charities ought to be established in the area to both monitor the casino and to develop good working relationships with the management staff.

The comparatively low GDP of Ceredigion evidences that a casino in the County would have a detrimental effect on the local community. It is widely accepted that people from low income groups gamble proportionately more of their income than others and run a greater risk of developing into problem gamblers. The Evangelical Alliance has long argued that the burden and social cost of gambling falls hardest on those who can least afford it.

http://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/Client/detail.asp?Contentid=43

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=941882006

http://www.gamcare.org.uk/pdfs/careservices4.pdf

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23366284-details/How+supercasino+'would+start+a+crime+avalanche'/article.do

i.e. the County's compliance to the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 in applying the Prevention of Crime and Disorder Objective when considering applications for Premises Licences

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/5101628.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/5101628.stm

http://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/Client/detail.asp?ContentId=43

http://games1.eurobet.com/gc/20/help/account/responsible_gaming.html