UK media has “anti-gambling agenda”, says Gib gambling commissioner
Phill Brear dismisses UK media reports on rise in problem gambling and believes self-excluding players are “abusing the system”
Gibraltar’s gambling commissioner has dismissed the recent UK media storm on the rise of problem gambling in the UK, labelling it a “misreporting of reality”.
Speaking to GBC News, Phill Brear said: “I’m afraid some of the media in the UK have lost their perspective on the subject.
“There’s an agenda in the UK that’s anti-gambling, and has seduced the media and politicians and they are guilty of mis-reporting what the reality is,” Brear said.
Brear’s comments follow the latest UK Gambling Commission figures, which reported a problem gambling rate of 0.8% of the population, with 5.1% of report respondents at risk of addiction to online gambling.
The problem gambling rate stayed within the long-term range of 0.6% to 0.9%.
On self-exclusion Brear said problem gamblers were “abusing” the system.
“It’s actually become a method by which the average user decides to move their accounts round or try to get more bonuses,” he said.
Self-exclusion made national headlines last week with 888 receiving a record penalty of £7.8m following a technical fault that enabled self-excluded players to continue betting on bingo.
Brear is set to retire from his post as commissioner in October, after six years in the position. Formerly, he acted as the director of operations at the UK Gambling Commission.