Sunday gambling on the way?

by GD Wed 30 Apr 2008, 7:08 pm

Sunday gambling could be on the way in Jersey and the number of slot machines in betting offices could be on the up.

The Shadow Gambling Commission's drawn up new guidelines to regulate the island's gambling industry. It's proposed a number of moves, which it says reflect public standards and morality.

If you fancy a flutter in Jersey you can't do it on a Sunday at the moment and the most you can win on a slot machine's twenty-five pounds. But now it's been decided gambling laws in Jersey dating back to the 1960s are out of date.

The restrictions set out in those laws have been looked at by the shadow gambling commission, which carried out a public consultation between June and August last year.

The Commission looked at different types of gambling in its study. One area of concern that was flagged up in the public consultation was online gambling.
There's a huge number of sites allowing people to have a spin on the virtual roulette table or place a bet on the horses from home. And regulating that is easier said than done.

Assistant Economic Development Minister Alan Maclean told Channel Online: "It comes under a - partly under a social responsibility programme. Education to ensure that people are made much more aware as to the harm that can occur with getting involved in gambling. Don't forget that now with the onset of computers and the internet, people have access in their own homes. We have to do all we can to ensure that people are properly informed and properly educated about the risks associated with gambling and I think there is a lot we can actually do in that area to improve the position."

The commission's keen to press home that message of education. It's planning to launch workshops in schools to teach children about the dangers of underage gambling. (From Channel Online)

The Church Type's will not be amused....