Image copyright NurPhoto/ Getty Images Image caption Labour wants to overhaul gamble legislation Labour is calling for a ban on gambling advertising during live sporting events in a bid to tackle problem lottery.
It also said it would stop people utilizing credit card to pay for wagers and introduce a levy on gamble operators to help pay for treatment.
Deputy leader Tom Watson said problem gamble was “a public health emergency”.
But the Conservatives criticised Labour for “liberalising the gambling market when it was in power”.
Mr Watson said his party would introduce a “whistle-to-whistle” ban on gambling adverts being depict during a specified time before, during and after a live athletic event.
“Current gambling regulation is not up to the job of protecting junkies and those at risk of addiction, ” he added.
“Gambling companies have to take more responsibility for harm caused by their products and contribute more to research and treatment.
“We must also face up to the negative effect the explosion in gamble ad has had and act accordingly.”
New guidelines
The proposed levy would amount to 1% of operators' gross gamble yield. Labour also said it would bring in new guidelines and resources to help problem lotteries.
For example, it wants new rules that would enable gambling addicts to tell their bank to block online gambling transactions.
Sky Bet boss Richard Flint welcomed the idea of a excise, but said banning advertising and charge card pays would not work.
Image copyright Reuters “We'll study the advertising proposals carefully but believe any type of blanket ban removes a key incentive for operators to get a UK gambling licence and therefore could leave UK clients most vulnerable to disreputable operators, ” he said.
“And our data on credit cards suggests that it is those clients with multiple cards that are at greater danger of damage we are therefore believe attention should be placed on that rather than a complete ban.”
Gambling and sport
Betting companies and gambling advertising have become synonymous with athletic events and sporting organisations in recent years – especially in football.
This season, almost 60% of clubs in England's top two divisions have the names of gambling companies on their shirts – that's nine of the 20 Premier League clubs, and 17 of the 24 in the Championship.
Research also suggests that viewers of World Cup matches were exposed to 90 minutes of betting adverts during the tournament in Russia.
There are also studies to show professional footballers themselves are a high-risk group , in terms of developing problematic lottery behaviour.
Labour said here today reiterated previous calls for Premier League clubs to volunteer to aim sponsorship deals with gambling firms.
But the party added it would take legislative action if clubs refused to do this on a voluntary basis.
Other athletics which are “intrinsically linked” to gambling, such as horse racing, would be exempt from the new rules.
‘Correcting Labour's mistakes'
Labour's new policies stem from consultations with gambling addiction experts, charities, industry bodies and those suffering from gambling problems.
Its proposals reflect concern elsewhere about the impact of gambling advertising.
In March, the Australian government banned betting ads from being illustrate during live athletics broadcasts, and the ban was extended to include online streaming services in April.
Rachel Cassidy, prof at Goldsmith's University, calculates gambling advertising increased by 600% from 2007 to 2013.
Chris Skidmore, Conservative Vice Chairman for Policy, said: “Labour liberalised the gamble market when they were in power, and have admitted that they were wrong.
“We are correcting Labour's mistakes – ensuring tighter rules on gambling advertising, increasing protections around online gambling, launching a multi-million pound awareness campaign , commissioning research on the harms of problem gamble, and slashing the maximum stake on fixed odds betting terminals, which were introduced under Labour.”
