“The Catholic Church teaches that gambling is not intrinsically evil. But it becomes morally unacceptable when it is transformed into an obsession or leads gamblers and their families to suffer heavy losses of money”, says Archbishop Peter Smith, chairman of the Department for Christian Responsibility and Citizenship of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, in a statement issued on 25 October. “The duty of society says the statement is therefore that of regulating gambling to effectively protect the more vulnerable, especially the young, who could be at risk of exploitation or dependence on gambling”. “The Methodist Church and the Salvation Army have worked a great deal on behalf of the Churches on this issue to obtain the insertion of more restrictive provisions in the government bill on gambling” (presented in recent days and due to be submitted to Parliament) continues Archbishop Smith . “I share and support their efforts”. In the view of the English bishops, “with a view to ensuring better legislation on gambling in the UK, it is vital that the government commit itself in particular to an effective regulation of gambling and betting on the Internet, which represents the main and most rapidly growing sector”.
