Evangelicals Continue Fight to Protect Children from Gambling Temptations

The Evangelical Alliance has welcomed Professor Mark Griffiths' warning that slot machines of whatever sized stake can be addictive and that vulnerable children should not be allowed to use them.

The alliance, representing more than a million Christians in the UK has consistently maintained this view, even when it was being hotly contested during the passage of the Gambling Bill in both houses of Parliament.

However, the government disagreed, claiming that a ban would adversely affect seaside arcades.

The EA states, "This surely stood in direct conflict with Tessa Jowell's stated number one priority for the Gambling Act of 'protecting children and the vulnerable'."

Christians in seaside towns have expressed anxiety about low educational attainment locally, often exacerbated by truanting children in arcades.

Pastor Derrick Hill from Park Baptist Church, Great Yarmouth, said: "The open door policy of seafront arcades is a honey trap for children of high school age."

The Evangelical Alliance is now calling on the government to think again about allowing children to use slot machines in the light of Professor Griffiths' recent comments.

Gareth Wallace, Parliamentary Officer at the Evangelical Alliance, said: "It is surely common sense that the government should use its reserve powers under the act to stop children of any age from gambling."

Evangelicals are not the only ones that are fighting against various forms of gambling. Just last month, the Church of England continued its campaign to urge the public that advertisements promoting gambling should have warnings about the danger of gambling addiction.

It states that the potential benefits of doing this "should outweigh the disadvantage of extra financial costs for advertisers".

The statement questions whether the government's objectives for regulating advertisements for gambling are realistic or achievable.

It supports the government's objective in the Gambling Act 2005 that "the reduction of harm should take precedence over the maximisation of innovation, consumer choice and economic gains," but questions how far "any regulatory framework" can achieve this goal, "given the persuasive function and character of advertising".

The Church of England also calls on the Gambling Commission to make compliance with advertising rules a condition of gambling operators' licences.

Taking the same position as other churches, most prominently The Salvation Army and the Methodist Church, the Church of England reiterated its long-held concern for the potential damage to individuals and families if more people become problem gamblers.

The submission also proposed a cap on the age of all models and actors featured in, or at least playing a significant role in, the gambling advertisements to 25 years of age as a guard against the potential for youngsters to identify too easily with them and so make gambling more attractive to them.

The response was developed by the Mission and Public Affairs Council of the Church of England, the body responsible for overseeing research and comment on social and political issues on behalf of the Church.