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Press Releases
Panorama reveals the UK's 5.8 million online gamblers
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Panorama has uncovered figures which show that an average of 5.8 million people a
month visited online gambling sites from April to September 2006.
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The statistics from the internet media and market research company Nielsen/Net
Ratings show that in May there were more than six million visitors to online
gambling sites.
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Independent research commissioned by the Government claims that there are only 1 million regular UK online gamblers.
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And Professor Jim Orford, an addiction expert, tells Panorama the Government is
being "naive" and "playing dice" with people's health over its plans to liberalise
gambling laws.
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He has predicted that up to one million people a year could become
hooked on internet gambling because of the Gambling Act 2005. The Act becomes law
in September 2007.
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Professor Orford, who works at Birmingham University, told Panorama: "Gradually
we're going to realise it's a much bigger problem than we thought."
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He says: "More people are going to know friends and family members who've got problems.
Health authorities are going to be under pressure to provide treatment.
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"We could
be talking about a million people affected by it in any one period of 12 months,
and that begins to put it on a par with drug addiction problems."
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Richard Caborn, Minister for Sport, said: "We have, I believe, acted responsibly in bringing an Act onto the statute book, which has three basic principles on which it is based; protecting the vulnerable, keeping it crime free and making sure that those who have a bet will be paid out and it'll be a fair bet.
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"That is what it is predicated on because we believe that gambling is now part of our leisure industry."
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Online Gambling: Britain's New Obsession will be broadcast on Sunday 26 November 2006 at
10.15pm on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ One and at bbc.co.uk/panorama.
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PR
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