Over 100 Members of Parliament in the UK have united to insist that their government imposes "bold reforms" on betting, notably online, in the upcoming new legislation.

UK

Among their demands is a limit of £2 for an online bet with a spending limit of £100 a month.

A number of British MPs and members of the House of Lords, plus 18 bishops, have put their names to the demands, citing that there are as many as 55,000 children aged between 11 and 16 among the gambling addicts in the UK.

This came from an analysis by Public Health England that said that the social and economic cost of gambling stood at around £1.27bn a year. This comprised financial problems and unemployment or family breakdown and health problems.

The British government is in the course of reviewing the gambling legislation and will issue a white paper on the subject early in 2022.

“We call on the Prime Minister to be bold in delivering the gambling reforms needed to prevent harm across the country. It is time for the government to live up to the Conservatives’ 2019 manifesto commitment to a review of gambling laws, levelling up, social justice and a better future for us all.”

Online betting, they said, should be brought into line with the limits on gambling now in force in the high street. Gambling companies that failed to "police" their customers’ spending would risk losing their licences.

Some seek to remove bookmakers’ VIP schemes that MPs describe as "immoral" as they offer their customers a one-to-one service with bonuses and financial inducements to spend more. Plans to control gambling advertising are known to be under consideration, including a ban on logos on football jerseys.