Since 2005, a lot has changed in high streets and town centers throughout the UK.

Many of us are aware of our local business's being driven out of our communities by the likes of corporations such as Sainsbury's and Tesco....but what about betting shops?

The liberalisation of gambling has been driven by various MP's in parliament that have links with the gambling industry, and betting shops have started to cluster in our communities, taking advantage of empty premises left by local business's struggling in the recession. (Ladbrokes , William Hill, Betfred, The Tote, Coral, Paddy Power and many others)

Problem gambling is becoming rife in the UK, and the gambling industry are trying very hard to cover up these facts, claiming that only 1% of people that gamble are problem gamblers.
The problem with this claim is that almost all of the research on problem gambling is provided by the gambling industry, as are nearly all of the few academics studying this issue.

Isn't problem gambling down to the individuals responsibility?

It depends what angle you take on things.
Before 2005 betting shops weren't really allowed to advertise as openly , now we see gambling adverts everywhere we go, they are pretty hard to avoid.

Fixed odds betting terminals containing the 'electronic roulette' games have been dubbed the 'crack cocaine' of gambling , and are sucking in many of our young people.

The campaign was set up after its founder suffered a two-year chronic addiction to the electronic roulette machines in 2009.

"To say that only 1% of people that gamble in betting shops are problem gamblers is an outright lie.
I spent hours everyday in betting shops , the numbers of problem gamblers are a lot higher than the general public perceive because unless you'v been inside them you wouldn't understand.
These are breeding grounds for depression, family breakups and cognitive impairment" claims campaign founder Ben Thacker.

For every one problem a gambler , on average a further eight to ten people are effected by the individual.
The social impact of this new culture of gambling is yet to be fully understood.

The campaign currently has a petition to ban betting shops from being located in family environments where children and young people are likely to be (such as high streets and town centers), in a bid to stop the gambling industry taking our communities back into the dark ages.

"The campaign is moving slowly at the moment" added Mr Thacker , "It seems the gambling industry are succeeding in covering up its mental health effects on our society."



You can sign the petition at >  http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/36386

For more information about the campaign or to sign up to its mailing list contact  neuroliberation@gmail.com

You can also view the campaigns blog at-  http://neuroliberation.blogspot.co.uk/