High street betting shops have closed during the coronavirus lockdown and there is no horse racing and football to bet on but on-line gambling games are still allowing money to be wagered.

A group that has been working to understand gambling patterns in the city to help reduce harm has started a survey to find ways to help people with gambling issues during the lockdown.

The Gambling Harms Group was set by The Alliance, which has representatives from the city council, health board among its members.

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Before lockdown began it had recently started a three year project to understand and respond to gambling harms experienced by people in Glasgow.

The organisation has “refocused” the project to investigate on-line gambling behaviour during the lockdown period and how it has changed.

The survey questions include “Have you noticed any change in the issues related to gambling that your organisation or community are responding to since the COVID19 outbreak started?”

And if people feel confident and able to respond to issues related to gambling and gambling harms during COVID19.

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Glasgow has had issues with gambling and non-traditional methods have attracted attention of the council.

There has been concerns over fixed odds betting terminals in bookmaker shops and a higher than usual concentration of betting shops in the most deprived communities leading to campaigns what eventually led to a reduced cap on the maximum stake per play on machines.

The big betting firms have switched their attention from big live events like football and racing to online games like roulette, poker, online slot machines and games like bingo and even online scratchcards. Many of the big names in the industry also offer “free spins” as an enticement to set up an account.

Some are concerned about the round the clock availability of online gambling and people switching form their usual form of gambling to new games.

Annette Christie, Convener of Glasgow City Council Wellbeing and Citizen Engagement Committee, said: “Some of us might turn to gambling online for entertainment, or to financially support ourselves (unaware of the harms) while existing gamblers might up the stakes by switching to riskier forms of gambling such as online casinos or slots.

“At a time when so many restrictions have been placed on what we can and can’t do, or where we can go, gambling has never been easier.

“In the 24/7 internet world, online gambling is available in our homes every second of the day- with no real limits. Although the UK government’s recent ban on the use of credit cards to gamble will help to reduce the credit line, unfortunately it doesn’t go far enough. More social responsibility is needed as it doesn’t stop people gambling away their wages and losing their homes, even their families, livelihoods and sometimes their lives.”