Gambling white paper: Limits push gambling underground says ex-addict

The proposals include checks on gamblers who lose more than £1,000 in a day

UK government plans to regulate online slot machines may encourage gamblers to use unlawful gambling sites, a man who lost £500,000 on betting has warned.

A £2 stake limit for young gamblers and checks for anyone losing more than £1,000 in a day were set out in a white paper published on Thursday.

Jordan Lea, who now helps problem gamblers, said limits could see people instead betting on black markets.

The UK government is proposing new measures to tackle illegal gambling.

It will consult on stake limits for "high-risk" online slot machines of between £2 and £15 per spin, with lower limits and protections for 18 to 24-year-olds.

Gamblers who are losing large amounts of money could face checks that kick in when they lose £1,000 in 24 hours, or £2,000 over 90 days.

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Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said the government will also do more to "protect children", though it is still not clear how the restrictions would be enforced.

Mr Lea from Rhos-on-sea in Conwy county started placing bets in his early teens, losing an estimated £500,000 by his late 20s.

Limits on betting losses may have helped Jordan Lea, who lost half a million pounds betting in his teens and 20s.

The 35-year old quit gambling in 2018 and set up Deal me out a business that does educational workshops on the dangers gambling can pose.

He said the proposed restrictions might have "made a significant difference to my own life in that after I lost money it would have given me time to think, 'I can't play again'."

But he said some problem gamblers may skirt the limits by betting on unregulated "black markets".

He said changes in 2019 limiting the stake on fixed odds betting terminals to £2 pushed many gamblers onto online gambling sites in the first place.

More needs to be done during the consultation period to address the "unintended consequences" of the restrictions, he said.

Online casino games generate £3.9bn of the gambling industry's £14.1bn annual yield

"Problem gamblers have an addiction," he added, "and we can't regulate ourselves out of that.

"We need enough support in place for people who need it because otherwise they will simply go down other avenues with their addictions."

He also said the NHS in Wales does not have a specialist service to help problem gamblers.

'Woefully behind the times'

The government's white paper plans to give extra powers to the Gambling Commission to try to tackle black market operators.

It would be able to use "court orders and work with internet service providers to take down and block illegal gambling sites," the white paper noted.

The UK government must "act now" on gambling restrictions says Merthyr Tydfil MP Gerald Jones

Merthyr Tydfil MP Gerald Jones, who is on the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Gambling Related Harm, welcomed the proposed restrictions but questioned why they will now be subject to a consultation.

"Gambling legislation in the UK is already woefully behind the times," he said.

"With at least one person taking their own life each day as a result of gambling harms, we simply cannot afford to wait any longer for these changes," he added. "The government must act now."

Online slot games are designed to mimic slot machines in betting shops

Cardiff-based gambling addiction counsellor Nick Shepley said research indicates the gambling industry makes most of its money from people who are losing more than £1,000 in a day.

"If the checks work it will be a good thing for my clients," he said, explaining how gambling addiction is about impulse control.

There should also be restrictions on adverts that glamorise betting says Cardiff gambling addictions counsellor Nick Shepley

"This might give some people in that mental space the cooling off time they need," he said.

"But it depends on how rigorous the checks will be," he added, asking how the new rules will prevent people who have lost a lot of money on one online site from simply moving to another.

He said the "devil would be in the detail" when it comes to penalties against betting companies that break the rules, saying they should be "hefty enough to be a serious disincentive".

Mr Shepley also called for tighter rules on gambling adverts, which he said portray betting as something "macho" for young men and "lifestyle fun" for young women.

"If we advertised alcohol in the same way that would be completely unacceptable these days," he said.