Labour backs calls for children to be taught about gambling

 

The shadow education secretary, Stephen Twigg, said pupils should learn about gambling to 'prepare them for the adult world'. Photograph: Martin Argles for the Guardian

Labour has backed calls for children as young as 12 to learn about gambling in school.

Gamcare, a gambling addiction support service, has proposed that pupils should be taught about fruit machines, how to study sports teams to improve chances of winning and how to calculate odds.

The organisation, which reportedly receives £3m annual funding from the gambling sector, has submitted its proposals to a government review of personal, social and health education (PSHE).

The shadow education secretary, Stephen Twigg, said pupils needed information to prepare them for the adult world.

"This is something that shouldn't be left to chance," he said. "With the rise of online gambling, there is clearly a need for children and young people to be given good advice.

"It is right that, just like drug and alcohol addiction, teenagers and children are given information to prepare them for the adult world.

"The government should listen to concerns from charities and include gambling awareness in the reviewed guidance on PSHE education."

Gamcare has also suggested classes should discuss "some of the more positive aspects of gambling" as well as negative points and examine why people bet.

But Graham Stuart, Conservative MP and chairman of the Commons education select committee, said: "I am generally nervous of trying to make schools the cure-all for society's ills. Their primary aim is to equip children with the basic skills of a decent education."