Casinos to benefit from gambling legislation

EXETER, England: Britain's proposed new gambling law, which could be introduced by the end of the year, could double the number of serious adult gamblers, a leading expert said yesterday. Professor Mark Griffiths, of Nottingham Trent University, told a science conference the legislation will lead to a rise in the numbers of casinos and people who use them. "There will be an increase in gamblers as a result of the gambling bill that is going through," he said. The current estimated 275,000-325,000 addicted gamblers could double and the number of adolescents who play machines in arcades for prizes is also worrying, he said. Griffiths, who described himself as Europe's only professor of gambling studies, said it is an addiction similar to drugs or alcohol. Gambling involves mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict and relapse. People are drawn to it for the social aspects, the excitement and, of course, the chance to win. Almost winning, the near misses, merely entices gamblers to continue and play more. Serious gamblers suffer the same symptoms of withdrawal - the shakes, nausea, stomach cramps - as alcoholics and drug addicts, he said. They can also be driven to criminal activity and suicide by the habit, Griffiths told the British Association science festival. In addition to more casinos, bigger prizes and more sophisticated marketing will attract the punters. Only about three per cent of Britons belong to gambling clubs but under the proposed law, Griffiths noted, there will be no membership rules. The number of casinos could also double, he predicted. Britain currently has 120 casinos. He also predicted that Internet gambling will increase and could become addictive because it will offer gamblers easy access, anonymity and convenience. "The number of adult gamblers will increase vastly," he added.