BMJ  2007;334:828-829 (21 April), doi:10.1136/bmj.39182.424965.AD

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Gambling with the nation's health

John Middleton, director of public health1, Farid Latif, senior house officer, paediatrics2

1 Sandwell Primary Care Trust, West Bromwich B70 9LD , 2 Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, Telford

Correspondence to: J Middleton John.middleton@sandwell-pct.nhs.uk

Decisions about building casinos in the UK have not given enough weight to the potential health effects, argue John Middleton and Farid Latif

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

In March the House of Lords threw out government proposals to build the UK's first Las Vegas-style super casino in Manchester and build 16 other casinos around the country.1 This decision reflects polarised views about the costs and benefits of liberalised gambling in the United Kingdom, but the health dimension of the debate has been lacking.1 The UK currently has a low prevalence of problem gamblers, estimated to be 0.6%.2 By contrast the rate in the United States is about 2.8%, although rates vary across states. In New Jersey, the home of Atlantic City, the US's second largest casino resort, the prevalence of problem gambling is 4.2%.3

However, the UK's low rates seem likely to increase when the Gambling Act 2005 is implemented. The act will give the British public more access to gambling facilities than ever before. In the year after a casino was opened in Niagara, not only . . . [Full text of this article]


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This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Pearce, J, Mason, K, Hiscock, R, Day, P (2008). A national study of neighbourhood access to gambling opportunities and individual gambling behaviour. J. Epidemiol. Community Health 62: 862-868 [Abstract] [Full text]  
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