Legalized Betting Booms in Britain

Each day around noon, Jim Briden ducks out of his job at a government organization and spends his lunch hour betting. Some days, he'll place $170 on a horse race; others it's $90 on virtual dog races. "Over a period of time, I lose," Briden, 41, admitted on a recent day while keeping one eye on the television in an airy betting shop in London's Holborn neighborhood. "But when you do have a win -- what a feeling!"Like many sports-lovers in Britain, he can't resist the urge to wager. Interest in gambling is soaring here, a trend that is expected to increase as portions of a gambling law that passed last year take effect by the end of 2007. By formally legalizing and regulating Internet gambling, licensing more casinos, and adding more slot machines to existing casinos, the government is hoping to benefit from added revenues while regulating the growing industry.Critics of the law predict it will create a new wave of problem gamblers and accompanying social problems. Still, towns across the country are competing to win the rights to build a Las Vegas style super-casino, and gambling companies from Britain and abroad are rushing to cash in.

May 7, 2006
Posted By Larry Rutherford
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com    Previous Page | Internet Gambling | Top Online Casinos | Submit News!