Gambling Debt and the Gaming Bill 2003

Introduction

The two Houses of Parliament established a Joint Committee to consider the Draft Gambling Bill (CM 5878) published by the Depatment of Culture, Media and Sport on 15 July 2003.

The new Gambling Bill will seeks to make gambling debts enforceable like any other form of consumer borrowing.

The Committee published its Report on 7th April 2004.

Debt due to gambling problems

Gambling too much can lead to being short of money to spend on other things. At the extreme end of the scale problem gambling can lead to severe debt, bankruptcy and even attempted suicides when an individual sees no way back from their debt.

It can become very easy to lose control of your money when gambling excessively. As the money starts running out it becomes very tempting to gamble even more money in the hope of a big win in order to clear debts. More often or not though this

just leads to even greater debts and  more desperate gambling. It can get to a point where there seems no way back, and gamblers become to afraid to face their debts so just continue gambling.

The following points can help tackle debt and control excessive gambling:

• Stop gambling when addressing your debt problems
• Take responsibility for your gambling and debt
• Share your problems with someone you trust and could support you
• Ask someone you trust to look after your bank cards for a period of time
• If necessary destroy your credit cards

It may be necessary to seek professional advice to help you deal with your current debt and help you to organize your money better for the future.

Online Tips

If you are currently gambling online or want to in the future, and are wary of the need to keep control of your gambling, the tips below should help:

• Keep track of the time that you are playing for.
• Only spend what you can afford to lose, keep track of your spend whilst playing and remember that the numbers on the screen are REAL MONEY
• Avoid chasing your losses
• If you're a parent keep your password safe, and if you wish, use software to block access to gambling sites from minors
• Look for sites with options where you can set your own spend and session limits, which should help you to control your gambling
• If you are having a problem then you can request to be self-excluded from the site. There is also software that blocks access to all online gambling sites.

Debt is a problem that is ever increasing in our society today. Offers for credit cards coming in the mail is happening more and more often, interest rates are appearing low, and borrowing money seems like the “smart” thing to do at times. However, it seems that going into debt is not that good of an idea after all, and now many people are stressed to get out of debt. Are you caught in debt yourself? For more tips on controlling your online gambling see: Debt and online Gambling.

If your gambling habits are causing you debt problems - you need to contact Money Advice Direct as soon as possible. Call us on 0800 074 6918.