Yesterday, the major gambling regulatory body in the UK – the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) – revealed that it would be hosting a reception at the Welsh Assembly along with the Directors of Public Protection Wales. The event was aimed at building more partnerships aimed at raising gambling addiction awareness in order to reduce negative effects that gambling could have on local customers.
The event came in the light of some research data published by the UK Gambling Commission that showed that currently are about 27,000 Welsh gamblers who suffer from problem gambling behaviour, as well as further 95,000 players who are considered being put at risk.
As revealed by the Commission, contributions from the gambling regulatory body’s Chief Executive Officer Sarah Harrison, as well as from the Chair of Public Protection Wales Mark Elliott, and Rebeca Evans AM, Minister for Social Services were to be included in the event’s agenda.
When speaking of levels of problem gambling in Wales, UKGC CEO Sarah Harrison explained that there were more than 120,000 people on the territory of Wales who were affected by negative effects of gambling by already being gambling addicts or being at risk of developing problem gambling behaviour. According to Ms. Harrison, the harms that could arise from gambling could reach further, having devastating impact on players’ families, jobs and even local communities.
The UK Gambling Commission’s boss confirmed that the UK gambling regulator would remain focused on dealing with gambling-related harm in the region and make sure that people in Wales were provided with fairer and safer gambling options. Ms. Harrison shared that the Commission is to work in close collaboration with the Welsh Assembly, local councils and advice bodies in order to tackle possible negative effects of gambling.
Problem Gambling in the UK and Wales
Problem gambling has become a serious challenge to UK gambling regulatory authorities, as more and more people get affected by compulsive gambling and addictions. That is exactly the reason why local authorities get increasingly interested in it, especially as far as public health and policy interest are concerned.
For the time being, Wales has been one of the regions of the UK which were most affected by gambling addictions. The major British gambling regulatory authority has been collecting participation data from its Welsh problem gambling survey, as well as from the Health survey for England and the Scottish health survey. This spring, the Commission revealed some data regarding gambling participation and problem gambling in the UK, which was used by the regulator to consider possible changes in gambling activity in the future.
Earlier in 2017, a number of UK authorities and regulators in the UK shared their concerns with the constantly increasing popularity of fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) and the latter’s possible effect on local gamblers. According to a previous report of the UK Gambling Commission, gambling addictions are getting a serious problem in Wales, with a larger number of players being affected every year.
Now, local authorities are working to minimise negative effects that gambling has on players and their lives. The UK Government and regulators, as well as some charity organisations have introduced some punters’ protection programmes aimed at raising players’ gambling addiction awareness.
Speaking of the Government, its long-awaited gambling industry review concerning fixed-odds betting machines is expected to be released as early as October. The entire gambling sector currently has its eyes on the authorities to see what measures are to be imposed on the controversial FOBTs and the industry as a whole to deal with increasing number of problem gamblers on the territory of the country.
- Author
Daniel Williams
