Online gambling increases in Northampton during lockdown - and gamblers are spending more time and money, according to new report

Search interest in casinos online has soared in Northampton since the coronavirus lockdown began, according to Google.

The town is in the search engine's top ten places in the UK for an increase in searches for 'casino' over the past 90 days.

Firms have been asked to contact people still betting after an hour in one online session as watchdog the Gambling Commission said there had been a rise.

Anna Hemmings, chief executive of GamCare, a UK charity to help with problem gambling, said: “As an organisation it is too early to see if gambling problems are on the rise during lockdown.

“What we do know is that contributing factors, such as financial distress, isolation and boredom are increasing with Covid-19 and Government measures.

“Combined with the availability of online gambling, there is a concerning context for people at risk."

The closure of physical gambling venues and cancellation of sports events has led to a drop in gambling overall.

But, while there was currently 'no evidence' of an increase in problem gambling in lockdown, the commission said it would 'continue to monitor and publish the data'.

The Gambling Commission said across the industry there had been an increase in some customers playing online slots, poker, casino gaming and virtual sports.

Engaged gamblers are also spending more time or money during the coronavirus lockdown, data shows.

The watchdog has given new guidelines to gambling companies to help their customers.

There has been a rise since lockdown began in people asking Gamstop for their self-exclusion to be reversed but once registered, the system does not allow them to cancel until the minimum period they originally chose, has expired.

In the past 30 days, searches for casinos not on Gamstop however have also increased, according to Google.

Gamstop said this was a sign 'in one sense that the new regulatory system was working'.

"However, it is obviously irresponsible for anyone to promote unlicensed websites that are not regulated by the Gambling Commission and consumers are strongly advised not to use them," it said.

Where it saw individuals or companies not licensed in Britain, illegally interacting with British consumers, the Gambling Commission meanwhile said it would act to close them down.