UK armed forces to remove all gambling machines from bases

A review of the Armed Forces Act by the House of Lords had recommended removing all gambling machines from military bases.

UK.- The Armed Forces will have to remove all gambling machines from military bases according to a recommendation from the House of Lords.

The Lords are reviewing Armed Forces Bill and the legislation will update the Armed Forces Act of 2006, which expires this year.

Lord Foster of Bath said he had secured a guarantee from the Ministry of Defence that all gambling machines would be removed from military bases.

The House of Lords Select Committee has also supported an amendment tabled Alan Smith, the Lord Bishop of St Albans, that seeks to improve data on army personnel that access treatment for alcohol, drug and gambling disorders. The information would be included in the Armed Forces Covenant annual report.

Lord Bishop had said he was “concerned that the Ministry of Defence is not taking gambling-related harm in the military community sufficiently seriously”.

He added: “On two occasions in response to my concerns in this area, the Ministry of Defence has stated that it has seen no evidence, or does not hold information, suggesting that serving personnel are more prone to problem gambling than any other group in society.”

He contested that assertion, highlighting research by the charity Forces in Mind Trust and the University of Swansea that found veterans were ten times more likely to experience gambling harm.

Last month, the Gambling Commission reported that the rate of problem gambling in the UK had fallen to 0.3 per cent in Q3, matching the lowest figure on record.

See also: Gambling Commission hails success of credit card ban