GambleAware Sends Cautionary Message Ahead Of NHS England Takeover

GambleAware has called on the government to ensure that NHS England fulfils its duties as the new treatment commissioner for gambling harms in the UK. Ahead of its expected closure next month, GambleAware published its final legacy report.

The 29-page study detailed key discoveries that GambleAware has made over the past couple of decades, but it also provided a roadmap for how gambling addiction should be treated in the future. Indeed, the report made for some intriguing insights, but the onus is on NHS England to deliver its remit.

A time for reflection

News of GambleAware’s closure was announced last summer following the government’s change in funding initiatives. As such, UK betting operators will now be required to contribute a percentage of their Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) to support addressing gambling-related harms.

From a GambleAware perspective, they had played a key role since 2002 in shaping the conversation surrounding responsible gambling. Yes, the charity served as the chief commissioner for gambling harm research, education and treatment (RET) projects which were funded through a voluntary contribution.

GambleAware understood the key levers and motivations for gambling. However, earlier this month, GamCare revealed a 48% increase in referrals for problem gambling year-on-year (YoY) for January, which detailed the scale of the issue at hand.

Cautionary tone struck

NHS England has a job on its hands to build upon GambleAware’s work. In assuming responsibility of the RET programme, all eyes will be on the public body to see how they curb problem gambling.

Naturally, with a high-profile handover, there will be some fears. GambleAware highlighted this in the report, striking a more cautionary tone when discussing the landscape for dealing with problem gambling in the UK.

The report stated:

“As the system transitions, concerns about the potential loss of institutional knowledge and sectoral progress are rising. Alongside this, there is a concern that differences in local capacity could mean that the quality of services varies from place to place.

“Without deliberate action, these risks could erode progress made in prevention, early intervention, and equity of response.”

Building a blueprint for success

Of course, over more than two decades, GambleAware has built up a significant knowledge base and facilitated some meaningful collaborations. In the section of the report titled ‘Building a Coalition of Voices’, GambleAware outlined five key reasons why this is important:

1. To change societal perceptions, there needs to be change makers that build momentum and set an example for others to follow.
2. It is much easier to make changes as a collective rather than as individuals.
3. Not all messaging will land from certain sources; finding different messengers help translate key messages in a way that the target audience is more likely to understand.
4. Others can help messages appear in contexts closer to the gambling journey (i.e. hot state) rather than an arms-length cold state.
5. There are limited influential voices in the gambling harms reduction space. The stigma associated with gambling harms is a key driver. There is no need for consumer and health voices to combat this issue.

Joined up thinking

This is a bold era for the gambling industry, and the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) has been rolling out a raft of changes to shake things up, including introducing a £5 cap on online slot stakes in April last year.

GambleAware, meanwhile, provided a recommendation in its report to ensure “joined up thinking” moving forward, adding:

“There needs to be a joined up eco-system of tools for each stage of people’s journey. Products should be built through practice guidelines and evaluated to continuously improve and share learnings.”