Gambling

BBC Radio 4's Law in Action was broadcast on Tuesday, 13 June, 2006 at 1600 BST.

The Government are planning the biggest shake-up of the gambling laws for decades, with the introduction of new casinos.

There have been concerns that the new laws will encourage gambling without the necessary safeguards, and that they fail to address the problem of online gaming. Law in Action analyses the plans and hears how one city worker not only gambled with her own money but also her employer's, to the tune of nearly half a million pounds.

Clive Coleman talks to the lawyer who kept her out of prison, hears how the gambling terrain will change, and cross examines an on-line gaming company as well as the man charged with policing the new gambling regime, Peter Dean.

Interviewees:
Julian Harris, Harris Hagan solicitors
Sharna Baker, gambling addict
Greg Foxsmith, criminal solicitor
Simon Burridge, Virgin Games
Peter Dean, Chairman of the Gaming Commission