A terrible reality at the time of legalization of online gambling, over 2 trillion yen was rolled up in 4 years in the past 5 years, and 400 people, 8% of all suicides, are caused by gambling



In 2005, the UK passed a gambling law allowing the advertising of sports betting, online casinos and online poker on television and radio. In addition, the online gambling industry grew rapidly as it was also allowed to offer online gambling to British citizens without a license in the UK. As a result, the number of people who become addicted to gambling is increasing rapidly in the UK, and it is reported that it has become a major social problem.

Online Casino Smartphone Gambling: How the UK and Its Politicians Got Hooked
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2022-gambling-addiction-stories-how-uk-got-hooked-on-online-casino-betting/

According to a report on the gambling industry from April 2021 to March 2022, the revenue of the UK gambling industry was £9.9 billion (about 1.6 trillion yen), of which £6.4 billion (approx. 1.5 trillion yen). The bar graph below shows the transition of gambling revenue in the UK. In 2009, online casino (red) and online gambling (pink) revenues were a small part of the overall gambling market, but they have increased sharply since 2014, and by 2021-2022, online casinos and online gambling alone It accounts for nearly 50% of the entire gambling market.

At the same time, according to a report by the UK's National Health Service (NHS), the number of patients prescribed referrals for gambling addiction treatment between April and September 2022 increased by 42% year-on-year. In the UK alone, 138,000 people are addicted to gambling at a level suspected of addiction, and about 1.3 million people are said to be addicted to moderate or low gambling.

According to UK government (PDF file) statistics , 138,000 people in the UK have been classified as 'problem gamblers' by regulators, 36,000 of whom were between the ages of 11 and 16. . In addition, the NHS reports that 'more than 400 people, 8% of all suicides in a year, are related to gambling addiction.'

However, one of the reasons why online gambling has not died down even if it has become a social problem is that the pandemic of the new coronavirus has increased demand for home entertainment. It is said that many people who are addicted to online gambling have become addicted to this new coronavirus in their lives refraining from going out.

Furthermore, gambling companies do not simply develop online gambling, but by registering their customers who lost big money in the so-called 'VIP system' and giving them gifts such as free bets, cash deposits, sports tickets, airline tickets to Las Vegas, etc. We are developing ways to attract more customers.



George Cooper, a freelance journalist, said he started online gambling in 2016, just after he broke up with his lover who had been with him for seven years, to relieve his loneliness and stress. After that, he was so addicted to online casinos that he melted his monthly income in just 20 seconds, and became addicted to gambling and had a debt of more than 16 million yen.

Gambling companies have a duty to warn customers who, like Mr. Cooper, are willing to take big bets in a short period of time. However, according to Mr. Cooper, he only received one call from a gambling company to warn him. On the contrary, after several days of not gambling, he was flooded with emails and sales calls informing him of free bets and bonus offers.

The overheating gambling industry has become a major social problem in the UK, and in February 2021, strict regulations were imposed on slots that can be played online, and the use of credit cards for online gambling was prohibited. Gamstop, a self-registration online gambling regulation site, has also been established. It is pointed out that there is no

Furthermore, although there are voices calling for the regulation of gambling itself to be promoted, some members of the Diet who oppose gambling regulation have appeared, so the discussion is slow to progress. In 2019, the British government announced a review of the gambling law, but said that it delayed the release of the results of the survey conducted for this review at least four times. Also, in the summer of 2022, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson has withdrawn some measures from a planned review proposal following intensive lobbying, Bloomberg reports.



In addition, it has been found that members of the Conservative Party (Conservatives) and the Labor Party (Lavour), the two major political parties in the UK, have received a large amount of donations from the gambling industry.



Related Posts:

in Note, Posted by log1i_yk