Scotland Still Worried About Slot Machines

With Glasgow not winning the bid the for the UK’s first supercasino, many felt that was the end of the line for them. The UK has determined that no more casinos will be given slot machine licenses for at least the next three years, so it doesn’t seem that there is anything for Scotland to concern themselves about. However, many feel that the Scottish Executive Ministers have been sitting in their hands and that they need to start preparing for it if it should happen to them.

A new report by Dr. Gerda Reith says that the ministers have to prepare themselves for the increase in gambling addiction and must know how to combat it when it happens. Reith is an expert on addiction and gambling, and she says that the ministers have not taken seriously a report she issued last year about the social impacts of gambling.

She said that the report tells of the problems that a supercasino could bring to Glasgow if was one allowed. She says that there are already over 37,000 addicted gamblers in Scotland, and that those numbers will grow increasingly higher with the addition of a supercasino. She talks about the problems that they have with the slot machines that are prevalent throughout the country, and that women are more likely than men to become addicted to these machines.

Reith says that they need campaigns to raise awareness of the dangers of gambling addiction, and that they need treatment facilities and options for those already addicted as well as those who will become addicted with the addition of more slot machines. Because Scotland is greatly lacking in these areas, the report says the amount of gambling addicts are higher than they should be.

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