IVA’s ‘are an option for struggling gamblers’

Insolvency practitioner Phillip Allen suggests that consumers across Britain are finding it increasingly easy to accumulate debts through online betting websites and many seem certain that bankruptcy is their only option.

And Mr Allen, who runs the Debt Lifeboat company, also claims that in many cases people who have run up debts through gambling are treated more harshly than other credit consumers.

He commented: “We often meet with people who have got into debt problems through gambling and can help them find a solution if they are prepared to stop gambling completely, seek professional help for their addiction and destroy their credit cards.”

Over 100,000 people in England and Wales entered into to an IVA over the course of 2006, accountancy firm KPMG reported earlier this year.