A third of a million people in the UK are problem gamblers.
55,000 of them are children. On average a problem gambler commits
suicide every day.
For each problem gambler six other people, some two million
people, suffer harm such as the breakup of families, crime, loss
of employment, loss of homes and, ultimately, loss of
life.
The gambling industry spends £1.5 billion a year on
advertising, and 60% of its profits come from the 5% who are
already problem gamblers, or are at risk of becoming so.
The liberalisation of gambling heralded in by the Gambling
Act 2005, the universal adoption of smart phones, and the
ingenious and often unscrupulous exploitation of soft-touch
regulation by gambling operators has created a perfect storm of
addictive 24/7 gambling.
It is against this background that the House of Lords
Gambling Industry Committee’s publishes its
report, Gambling Harm - Time for
Action.
, Chair of the
Committee, said:
“Most people who gamble, enjoy it safely. However, gambling
related-harm has made the lives of two million people miserable.
It leads to hundreds of people each year taking their own lives,
leaving families and friends devastated.
“The behaviour of some gambling operators, where vulnerable
people were targeted with inducements to continue gambling when
the operators knew they could not afford to, shocked the
Committee.
“Urgent action by the Government is required. Lax
regulation of the gambling industry must be replaced by a more
robust and focussed regime which prioritises the welfare of
gamblers ahead of industry profits.
“Addiction is a health problem which should be treated by
the NHS and paid for by gambling industry profits. The Government
must impose a mandatory levy on the industry. The more harmful a
gambling product is, the higher the levy the operator should
pay.
“Only time will tell if the harm caused by gambling has
been exacerbated by the coronavirus lockdown.
“Our report makes some 66 recommendations which we believe
will begin to the address this huge problem.”
The Committee’s key recommendations include:
-
The gambling industry offers a variety of products to
consumers, including some which can be highly addictive. The
Gambling Commission should create a system for testing all new
games against a series of harm indicators, including their
addictiveness and whether they will appeal to children. A game
which scores too highly on the harm indicators must not be
approved.
-
The equalisation of speed of play and spin, so that no
game can be played quicker online than in a casino, bookmaker
or bingo hall.
-
The Gambling Commission must explain the minimum steps
which operators should take when considering customer
affordability, and make clear that it is for the operator to
take the steps which will enable them to identify customers who
are betting more than they can afford.
-
The creation of a statutory independent Gambling
Ombudsman Service, modelled on the Financial Ombudsman Service,
to settle disputes between gambling operators and
gamblers.
-
The Government must act immediately to bring loot boxes
within the remit of gambling legislation and regulation.
-
Gambling operators should no longer be allowed to
advertise on the shirts of sports teams or any other visible
part of their kit. There should also be no gambling advertising
in or near any sports grounds or sports venues.
-
Problem gambling is a common mental health disorder, and
the NHS has the same duty to treat it as to treat any other
disorder. Last year the NHS promised to open 15 new clinics. It
should do this before 2023 and establish a comparable number
within the following few years.
