 Online
Casinos need betting cap, says British MP
The online casinos
industry is a $12 billion dollar a year industry and the speed
and quickness of playing at online casinos has gripped poker
players all over the world. The popularity of online casinos,
and the hands per minute speed of online casinos, has led to new
TV reality poker ventures. Online casinos are always looking for
an edge on the competition. Some online casinos choose sign up
bonuses or promotions such as refer a friend deals to attract
consumers. Other online casinos advertise in more unique ways
through guerilla marketing or unique stunts. Even other online
casinos look to gain market share in the industry through
sponsorships and mergers and acquisitions. Whatever the
strategy, the $12 billion dollar a year online casinos industry
is booming, and now online casinos have raised the sponsorship
stakes by pushing to make a big impression in the world.
Still, some believe that players at online casinos are spending
way too much. One such believer is a British politician who
believes new regulations and laws should be introduced that
would limit the amount people can spend at online casinos via
their credit cards or bank accounts.
Because many people have access to online casinos and also
access to credit card accounts without high overheads, problems
of online casinos seeing major credit card debts being rung up
have increased recently, and the problem is getting even more
dangerous. Should credit card firms do something on their own?
Or do they need a little push from someone like a major British
politician who understands the industry?
Credit card firms should place a cap on how much can be spent on
internet gambling sites, an MP has said. Mike Weir, the Scottish
National Party (SNP) MP for Angus, called for a limit of £1,000
a week and for sites to limit players to one credit card each.
It follows cases where gamblers have spent thousands on other
people's cards and concerns over gambling addiction.
But both APACS, which represents the card industry, and
Partygaming say there are major problems with the idea.
They say the way to tackle the problem is to deal with the
person's addiction, rather than further limiting access to
online gambling.
Online gambling has swept the UK, with four million people now
playing each month.
Online gambling is forecast to grow by 22% this year and with it
fears over the number of players with serious debt. The average
online gambling debt in the country is £25,000.
The industry already pays £3m a year into a trust to deal with
the issue of problem gambling.
Doctors warned earlier this week that internet gambling and
super-casinos will cause an explosion in gambling addiction.
They said at the British Medical Association's annual conference
that it had become easier to gamble and warned there was little
support in place to help those who were addicted.
They called for research into prevention and the availability of
more treatment.
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