Britain is taking too long to crack down on gambling – we must learn lessons from Belgium – The Telegraph

The UK government has been promising to overhaul the rules around gambling in this country for years. They launched a review in 2020 and the call for evidence concluded over a year ago. We were promised their plans would be laid out before Christmas, but six months on we are still waiting.

The noises in Westminster suggest that plan could be published in as little as a few weeks time. And, if it is truly reforming, people may forgive the wait. Even though, when it comes to the issue of problem gambling in this country, time means lives.

There are at least a third of a million problem gamblers in the UK, of which more than 50,000 are children. The problem is so big that the NHS announced it would set up 15 gambling treatment clinics across England and Wales. It is hoped that getting more people into treatment could reduce the amount of gambling-related suicides in this country, currently estimated at one every single day.

How did we get here, and what effective action are other countries taking that, so far, the UK isnt?

As recently as 2006, the average young Briton would go about their daily life and the only time they might see a gambling logo or an encouragement to bet would be when they walked past a bookies on the high street. Now, according to a Stirling University study, 96 per cent of 11-24 year olds had seen gambling marketing messages in the last month and were more likely to bet as a result.

A House of Lords report found about 1.5 billion is spent on all forms of marketing by gambling operators. TV adverts might be restricted to specific times, but last year 1,200 hours of radio ads aired during the school run times of 8am-9am and 3pm-4pm.

Academic research has shown that a child watching a Premiership football match on television can be exposed to more than 700 gambling logos over the course of a 90-minute game on kits, hoardings, stadium infrastructure and even the clothing of medical staff as they run onto the pitch to help a stricken player.

It wasnt always like this. Seventeen years ago, a change in the countrys gambling laws allowed firms to advertise on British TV for the first time. Advances in smartphone technology over the same period mean everyone has a potential super-casino in their back pocket and, unsurprisingly, the number and variety of bets laid has rocketed. The rules surrounding online betting are much looser than those governing betting shops and the speed of bets and amount of money that can be hazarded in a short space of time is frightening.

Others have grasped the nettle. Last week the Belgian government brought forward bold proposals to ban almost all gambling advertising in a bid to protect the swathes of gamblers showing problematic gambling behaviour in the country. By the end of the year, gambling companies would no longer be allowed to advertise on Belgian television, radio, social media, newspapers, or via personalised messages. The UK should take heed.

In truth, there are half a dozen or more changes which command broad support across all the main political parties, that the Government here would be able to get through Parliament if it had a mind to.

Combined, they would offer real protection to those at risk, without stopping gambling being enjoyed by the many thousands of Brits for whom it is a harmless leisure pursuit.

Affordability checks to stop gamblers being encouraged to bet more they can afford, slowing down the speed of online Casino games and limiting the amounts that can be placed in a single bet would all help end the instances of people losing catastrophic amounts of money in a single night.

Changes to advertising, sponsorship and direct marketing so people are bombarded with logos every time they watch a football match, turn on the television or open their social media account would reduce the number of encouragements people especially young people face to lay a bet. A crackdown on marketing inducements such as free bets or preferential rates for first-timers would limit the gambling companies offer to turn non-gamblers into return customers.

While a statutory levy on gambling firms would help fund research, education and crucially treatment for problem gamblers. Such expanded treatments should be NHS led and the way in which money from such a levy would be spent should be decided independently without the gambling firms attaching strings.

Finally, to make sure everyone abides by the new rules, a gambling Ombudsman should be introduced. This would give customers a trusted place to go if they feel they havent been treated fairly and would be a positive step towards levelling the playing field between the individual and multi-million pound corporations.

Belgium has just shown what governments can do if there is enough political will to protect their own citizens. There is broad political consensus here for the reforms that the UK urgently needs. Time for ministers to get on with the job.

Continued here:

Britain is taking too long to crack down on gambling - we must learn lessons from Belgium - The Telegraph