Millions Gamble Report Says

The program reports an average of 5.8 million people who gamble at online casino sites every month, in the months between April and September, with over 6 million in May alone. The figures, collected by market research company Nielsen/Net Ratings, are much higher than the official figures released by the government's Gambling Commission of only one million regular gamblers.

The anticipated liberalization of the sites in the UK raises debate in the country. Gambling online will be legal starting September 2007, and operations will be legally run in the UK from that day. The Gambling Commission will regulate the industry, approve or disapprove various operations, and check for relations to organized crime, among other preventative and regulatory measures.

While the government prepares for the new reality, psychologist Professor Jim Orford of Birmingham University criticized the "naïve" approach of the government in handling the phenomena. The expert predicts as many as one million a year could become addicted to gambling. The British minister for sport, Richard Caborn, expressed the government stand as assuring three basic principles protecting the vulnerable, keeping the industry crime free and insuring fair bets.