[Richas]

I just got to the FOF guy talking about the UK prevalence survey. He was alleging that fixed odds terminals and computer based gambling had higher problem gambling rates and talked of an "increasing" problem. This is a real abuse of the research in an area that is important to the debate.

His claim is that online makes more problem gamblers. This would be a powerful argument so it is important to be able to refute it - fortunately the research he quoted did not show what he claimed at all! In fact it showed that between 1999 and 2007 FOBTs, spread betting and Internet gambling became much more widely available and much more widely used but the number of problem gamblers remained the same.

He abused the research by cherry picking a couple of bits of data that showed that a higher proportion of those involved in spread betting, FOBTs and Internet gambling have a problem - what he failed to mention was that these have relatively low participation rates. Problem gamblers are a bit like early adopters in other industries, they seek out the new opportunities of the new technology and so make up a higher proportion in these areas solely because they are used by relatively few. Problem gamblers bet on anything and everything - the new technology DOES NOT increase their number or make new addicts. That is what the research showed instead he makes up an increased threat via the Internet and mumbles of crack cocaine.

Now I don't know much about FoFs inteligence or morals but as the research headlined with the number of problem gamblers in the UK and highlighted the no change since 1999 I doubt this mistake was due to a lack of intelligence, it does after all only require the ability to read so I must assume that the FoF rep deliberately lied and that somehow this is acceptable in his moral framework.

Seriously it is important to know that internet gambling may be used by problem gamblers, even loved by problem gamblers but it does not make more problem gamblers (even if it has compromised the morals of at least one FoF spokesman-liar).