250,000 problem gamblers in Britain

The Gambling Commission's report prompted fresh concerns about a recent overhaul of gambling laws which gave operators greater freedom to advertise.

It shows an upturn in online gambling, with 6% of the population now using the internet to gamble. Online gambling was not included in a similar major study, carried out eight years ago, because it was virtually non-existent at that time.

Problem gambling rates are currently around 0.6% of the adult population - roughly the the same percentage as shown in the 1999 study. That rate rises to 7.4% among online gamblers and 6% for people who use online betting.

Shadow culture, media and sport secretary Jeremy Hunt said the report "demonstrates conclusively just how wide of the mark the Government's gambling policy is", adding: "Nearly one in 10 of online gamblers has an addiction problem that can lead to indebtedness, family breakdown and crime."

Liberal Democrat culture, media and sport spokesman Don Foster MP said: "The report does raise some serious concerns about the dramatic rise in the number of online gamblers and that's before we've seen the expected increase as a result of the recent liberalisation of gambling advertising."

Some 32 million people took part in some type of gambling activity in the past year, the Gambling Commission's report said. Problem gambling was more prevalent among men than women, and tended to be among younger age groups.

The highest rates were among people who did spread betting, at 14.7%, used fixed odds betting terminals at 11.2%, and betting exchanges at 9.8%. Fewer people took part in these forms of gambling, which might have caused the problem gambling rate to be higher, the Commission said.

The most popular type of gambling activity in Britain is the National Lottery Draw, with 57% of people taking part, although this was down from the 65% participation shown in the 1999 study. Scratch cards were the second most popular, with 20% of people using them, followed by 17% who bet on horse races and 14% who played slot machines.

Overall, men are more likely than women to gamble, with participation rates at 71% and 65% respectively. The full extent of problem gambling in Britain could be up to 378,000 adults, the two separate measures used in the study both concluded.