A GAMBLING kit designed for children has been pulled from shop shelves after being slammed as ‘irresponsible.’
Discount supermarket Poundstrecher were selling the Telitoy Gambling Device for 99p.
A gambling support group warned parents not to buy the toy, which features fake 500 Euro notes, and campaigners said that ‘gambling isn’t all fun and games.’
Poundstrecher has now agreed to stop selling the game.
A spokeswoman said: “We always listen to our customers, appreciate their feedback and aim to stock the great value products they want.
“In this instance we have removed the product from sale.”
A spokesman for GamCare, a leading gambling support group which operates a hotline for people with gambling problems, said many callers reported starting gambling when young.
He said: “We hope parents will exercise judgement regarding this product and young children.
“Many of the 1000 callers who contact us every week started gambling when they were young.
“It’s important that parents and children are aware of the risks associated with gambling.”
GamCare has said that 60,000 12-15 might already be problem gamblers.
Daniel Webster of the Evangelical Alliance, a Christian lobby group, said: “Gambling toys that appeal to children are irresponsible.
“People who start gambling when young are more likely to have gambling problems later in life.
“Gambling isn’t all fun and games, for most people it means losing money and for some it can cause considerable harm.”
GamCare caused controversy earlier in December when they said schoolchildren should be taught about fruit machines.
The organisation, which receives around £3 million from the gambling sector, said knowledge would help children avoid irresponsible gambling.
Chief Executive Andy McLellan said: “One of GamCare’s core aims is to ensure that gambling remains safe for all – and this is particularly relevant for young people.
“For the vast majority, gambling is a pleasurable leisure pursuit.
“But we also know that at any one time some 60,000 12-15 year olds may already be problem gamblers – a prevalence rate of 2%, more than twice that for adults.
“The answer to this must lie in better education – for teenagers, parents and teachers.”
Giving evidence to the a House of Commons inquiry into gambling last week, he argued that gambling should be a part of by the Department for Education’s review of Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education.
He said: “The DfE’s review gives us the chance to make the case that the PSHE curriculum should raise awareness about the potential risks of gambling and include information about understanding risk and probability, and how to gamble responsibly.
“In exactly the way young people are already offered advice about the risks of drinking alcohol, taking drugs or smoking.”
Telitoy, based in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, were unavailable for comment.
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