Problem gambling changing but not rising

By Marc Jones

LONDON (Reuters) - Problem gambling is not getting worse, a study showed on Wednesday, but spread betting and video machines in bookmakers' shops are now the biggest areas of concern.

The long-awaited report from the Gambling Commission showed that 0.6 percent of those surveyed were problem gamblers, equating to around 250,000 adults in Britain.

The figure is little changed since the last broad study in 1999 despite a boom in Internet gambling.

Shares in gambling firms rose as investors hoped the news would ease the pressure on the government to tighten gambling restrictions.

The study, carried out by research specialist NatCen, looked at 17 forms of gambling ranging from betting in casinos and on the Internet to playing bingo and the National Lottery.

It defined problem gambling as behaviour detrimental to personal or family life, including continually trying to win back losses, lying to friends and family about gambling, or stealing to fund the addiction.

The government plans to use the results as the basis for legislation to cut gambling addiction and as a benchmark for future studies.

Surveying more than 9,000 people between September 2006 and March 2007 it was designed to be representative of Britain's 32 million adult population.