Casinos,
bookmakers and online betting sites are starting to get to grips with new UK gambling laws.
The UK Gambling Act 2005 came fully into force, overhauling pieces of legislation dating back as far as 1845.
It will protect children and vulnerable people, cut crime and keep games fair, according to the Government.
But the Salvation Army fears it will bring increased opportunities to gamble and the "normalisation" of an addictive activity.
The new laws relax previous restrictions on adverts for gambling to give casinos, online betting sites,
bookmakers and other operators the chance to launch TV commercials.
Many gambling websites are preparing to start TV advertising which could hit screens from today.
Ladbrokes intends to launch a TV campaign later this year, while
bookmakers Coral said it could start doing so "in the short to medium-term".
The Gambling Act 2005 governs nearly all forms of gambling including arcades, betting, bingo, casinos, online gambling and gambling in pubs and clubs.
It gives local authority licensing officers new powers to inspect gambling premises to enforce the new laws.
Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe said: "The Gambling Act will give the Gambling Commission and local authorities unprecedented powers to ensure gambling is conducted fairly, children and vulnerable people are protected and crime is kept out."
But the Salvation Army said the new laws allowed for a general increase in the number of gambling premises, particularly betting shops.
"Gambling is not a normal leisure activity. Whilst some people enjoy a flutter or bet from time to time, gambling can become addictive and cause many problems. The results can be devastating on the individual, their friends, family, and on society," a Salvation Army spokesman said.
Liberal Democrat culture spokesman Don Foster said: "While many of the gambling reforms are welcome, the Government must recognise its failure to put adequate provisions in place for the problems the Act may bring.
"There has been a huge surge in online gambling but ministers have failed at every opportunity to bring internet gambling companies onshore where they would pay tax and be properly regulated."
Gambling adverts will be subject to a code of practice policed by the Advertising Standards Authority.
Operators have also signed up to a voluntary set of rules which set a 9pm watershed for TV commercials for gambling services, except around televised sporting events.
A bingo prize of at least £1 million has already been announced as a result of the new gambling laws.
The Gambling Act says bingo halls no longer have to return all stakes as prize money. Instead, they can keep some money behind to offer as rollover prizes.
The computer-controlled National
Bingo Game is launching its new £1 million jackpot game called the Big N on September 15.
It describes the prize as the "largest ever jackpot game in bingo". The jackpot will roll over until there is a winner.
The chairman of the Gambling Commission, Peter Dean, insisted there were "strict measures" in place to prevent problems emerging.
"There's already, of course, a considerable amount of gambling," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"There are 140
casinos, 650 bingo halls, thousands of
betting offices and so on and so forth. So there's a considerable amount of gambling.
"I don't know what the increase is going to be, but what I do know is that there are very strict measures which we have introduced which will certainly help to reduce problem gambling."
Source Jon Land
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