Editorial: Casinos spell misfortune for the young

Rank outsider Manchester last week saw off the bookies' favourites Blackpool and the Millennium Dome to be the location of Britain's first super-casino. A further 16 casino licences, large and small, were also granted for conurbations across Britain. The developments, we were told by the Government, will regenerate swathes of urban wasteland, injecting thousands of jobs and fresh dynamism into many communities.

Since under-18s are barred from attending casinos, one might be forgiven for thinking this isn't an issue for young people. It's a presumption though that is both complacent and dangerous. Swanky new casino complexes are likely to glamorise gambling culture to many, often vulnerable, teenagers. They will generate a wider acceptability of gambling, giving adolescents something to look forward to in their adulthood, while reaffirming forms of gambling in which young people are permitted to participate. Casinos are not alone in this - opportunities to have a flutter have diversified of late, with the explosion of internet gambling and a glut of TV phone-in quiz shows.

The Government's regeneration argument for the casinos is fundamentally flawed. A commercial operator can only succeed if people lose money - hardly a sound basis for regenerating a community. Despite assurances that the locations awarded licences have been thoroughly vetted, MP John Leech tells Young People Now this week that there is concern the casinos will lead to addiction and social deprivation in families, which has a knock-on effect on young people (see p5). Moreover, children and young people engaging in risk-taking behaviour are often positively regarded by their peers, which fuels the problem.

The Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams rightly commented on the matter that "all addictions are imprisonments for the soul" and "ought to be of concern to the population at large". A small flutter is fine but there is a danger casinos will define personal fulfilment to young people in narrow, financial terms, and encourage them to believe it can be gained through chance and risk. This is utterly at odds with the collaborative spirit of youth work and the aspirations of Youth Matters to provide young people with positive activities and "someone to talk to"