IEA Head of Lifestyle Economics Christopher Snowdon has appeared on Channel 4 to discuss proposals for greater regulation of gambling in a new government white paper.

Discussing proposals for more affordability checks on gamblers, Christopher said:

“I think the problem is that the triggers are too low. They’re looking at triggering the first affordability check at a £500 loss or spend per year; that really isn’t a great deal.

“Let’s say you do spend £500 per year gambling and let’s say you have a CCJ [County Court Judgement], what happens next? Do you just get banned from gambling? Are you not allowed to gamble online anymore? It’s not clear.

“The solution is treatment; there will always be people who are problem gamblers and treatment is really very effective.

“All around the world, there are people who are problem gamblers and it’s really not related to regulation. 0.3 per cent problem gambling as we have in this country is really quite low by international standards and yet, until very recently, our regulation has been relatively Laissez-Faire.”

Watch the full segment here (4:15).