The UK Government is now aware of the number of problem gamblers who are getting help by the National Health Service (NHS). The local authorities also have no idea about the cost of these addictions, which has urged some leading charity organisations raise a red flag about the importance of adequate help for such players.
In response to Tom Watson, the deputy leader of the Labour Party, Department of Health also confessed that the issue had never been a matter of discussion and consideration to the health secretary Jeremy Hunt and the culture secretary Karen Bradley.
Mr. Watson claimed that gambling addictions in the UK has grown to epidemic extent. According to him, the fact that the local Government had done nothing to actually get informed about the number of people receiving NHS treatment or the cost of that treatment, is shocking. He also said that it was high time for compulsive gambling to be seen as a mental health problem, rather than as “a moral failing, and added that the Government needs to make sure that the National Health Service is the right body to take care of the problem.
The Chief Executive Officer of GambleAware, the largest charity organisation funded by the local gambling industry, warned that neither the sector, nor the country’s authorities seem to be taking problem gambling as a serious health issue. Mr. Etches further explained that there is not enough treatment ensured for gambling addicts.
Gambling Addiction Affect More UK Players
Gambling addiction and its possible negative effects on society has long been one of the hottest topics in the UK. For some time now, Members of Parliament and various charity organisations have been calling not only for stricter measures imposed on the domestic gambling market, but also for more adequate and timely help to be guaranteed to players who deal with problem gambling.
According to a recent survey that was officially released earlier in 2017 by the country’s regulatory body – the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) – the number of people affected by gambling addiction and being described as problem gamblers have increased to 430,000, while a further 1.6 million are put at risk of developing a problem. The problem gets even more serious by the fact that for the time being only one National Health Service clinic specialises in problem gambling in England and Wales, being funded by the gambling charity organisation GambleAware.
Recently, the Labour Party has been criticising the fact that the UK Government has done little to deal with gambling addiction. That is also one of the main reasons why the Party has insisted for more regulatory regime to be imposed on the UK gambling industry. The Labour Party as proposed a crackdown on bookmakers and online casinos in the country, as well as an obligatory levy to be imposed on gambling companies as part of the authorities’ efforts to make operators fund problem gambling treatment.
In addition, the UK Labour Party has supported the Government’s crackdown on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs), saying that reducing the machines’ maximum stake from £100 to £2 would help local authorities tackle gambling addictions in the country.
- Author
Daniel Williams
