Betting adverts should be banned from all live sports coverage, an MP has said, amid fears that young people could be at risk of suicide because of out-of-control gambling debts.
Tory MP Richard Graham said gambling adverts could be banned altogether as he put forward a 10-minute rule motion to the Commons calling for a levy on the revenues of gambling firms.
He said: “Will it be the tobacco of this generation? Something that once was widely advertised, then restricted, and now banned from advertising altogether.
“Will those damaged, or even killed by gambling be our legacy? Or is this our chance to get the balance right between funding sport, using technology, and having the right protections to prevent tragedy?”
The Gambling (Industry Levy Review And Protections For Vulnerable People) Bill will call for the money raised to go to help research the effects of gambling addiction, funding gambling addiction clinics, and improving safeguards for children and vulnerable people.
Mr Graham said: “Even one life destroyed by gambling is too many, and the depressing thing is that we simply do not know how many people have committed suicide from gambling. The only statistics available suggest that last year between 250 and 650 gamblers committed suicide.”
His bill will return for second reading on May 10 but it is unlikely to progress without government support.
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