South Ayrshire Trading Standards are urging local householders to be careful after they received complaints of unwanted mail from abroad which urges recipients to get involved with online casinos.  The mailings, which come from Hong Kong and other countries, attempt to entice householders to try out online gambling services with the incentive of extra money to gamble for every amount you stake.

While the mailings may be a nuisance, they are legal. Trading Standards debt advisors are however warning consumers to avoid running up unmanageable debts from the comfort of their own computer desk.  With levels of personal debt soaring and their client numbers multiplying, debt advisors are urging locals to be wary of staking amounts they can’t reasonably afford to lose.

According to the national charity for gambling problems, GamCare, online betting is becoming increasingly popular and there are now an estimated 1,700 gambling websites on the Internet. The convenience of gambling at home, the ease of setting up a gambling account and the variety of forms of gambling - from traditional betting, to casino gambling, bingo and lotteries - makes online gambling very appealing.

However, whilst many people gamble online without any problems, GamCare has seen an increase in the amount of people needing help and counselling after losing control of their online gambling.  This may be because online gambling can occur 24 hours a day and there may be a greater tendency for consumers to forget that through their accounts they are staking, and potentially losing, real cash.   Betting opportunities in general are more widespread than ever as interactive technologies now allow gambling through television and even mobile phones.

Commenting on the recent mailings, Councillor Hugh Hunter, Convener of the Community Safety Committee said, “We are not suggesting that online gambling is all bad and most customers enjoy responsible betting without any problems.  However it should be up to the individual through choice to respond to the reasonable marketing of gambling products. 

Unwanted and unsolicited mail from abroad which offers incentives to people to gamble more than they perhaps normally would is an undesirable practice.  Although householders can substantially reduce the amount of unwanted junk mail through their doors by registering their details with the Mailing Preference Service, unfortunately this will not always prevent mailings from abroad.

Householders should be very careful not to give details or cash to companies without all the facts.  Many mailings from overseas promoting lotteries or ‘get rich quick schemes’ are more often than not misleading and sometimes fraudulent.  Our advice is not to reply and to put it straight in your recycling bin.”

Trading Standards in South Ayrshire have asked anyone who wishes advice on debt, whether created through gambling or other circumstances, to get in touch for free and confidential help and advice.  They can also provide further advice on substantially limiting direct mail and what to do with unwanted post received from abroad.

The Trading Standards Service can be contacted on 01292 616060 or consumers are welcome to visit the Consumer & Business Advice Centre at 5-7 River Terrace, Ayr, KA8 0BJ.

December 2006