Displaying items by tag: new law needed

Vera Baird, the victims’ commissioner for England and Wales, said that data showed non-fatal strangulation was dangerous, prevalent, and often ignored. Current legislation minimises the seriousness of ‘domestic terror tactic’, and so a change to the law is urgently required. A push to make such strangulation a criminal offence is being led by the former victims’ commissioner Baroness Newlove, who is campaigning for the change via an amendment to the domestic abuse bill when it returns to the Lords on 12 January.

Children play online casino-type games that allow them to gamble (without money). At the same time, whether on tablets or phones, children are bombarded with ads which make gambling sound harmless fun. The combined effect of these two factors is that children are being conditioned to gamble. It is legal because of a legislation loophole that allows such games because they do not offer monetary prizes. Meanwhile illegal online gambling for under 18s has been made possible by the creation of virtual items called ‘skins’, modified weapons or costumes that players can win or buy in video games. Parent Zone, an advice service for parents and schools, is demanding action to close the loophole that allows skins to serve as a digital currency that can be gambled and cashed out on roulette wheel spins or other games of chance. There are 6bn skins in circulation, worth an estimated £10bn - potentially fuelling the rise in addictive gaming among teenagers. See