Kneejerk reaction to Gambling Commission report from opportunistic critics was all too predictable

The kneejerk reaction last week to the figures contained in the Gambling Commission's latest Young People and Gambling report was not a huge surprise.

The headline figure from the commission's survey was that the problem gambling rate for 11- to 17-year-olds had more than doubled from 0.7 per cent to 1.5 per cent and it drew a predictable response.

One notable example came from former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith, who recently became chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Gambling Reform. Duncan Smith claimed that gambling operators were "completely out of control" and were "going after young people".