The UK Gambling Commission plans on introducing measures to deal with the inefficacy of current self-exclusion schemes that aim at helping problem gamblers to reduce or stop their gambling activities altogether. The Commission’s decision is a response to the unsettling results of an investigation carried out by reporter Rob Cave for BBC’s 5 Live Investigates, who visited the town of Grimsby to investigate how efficient the current self-exclusion scheme is when it comes to discouraging compulsive gamblers from engaging in gambling activities.
The town of Grimsby was chosen for the purpose of the investigation because of its dense concentration of betting shops but the results have led many to question the efficiency of the self-exclusion scheme. The latter is an initiative of the Gambling Commission itself and aims at helping pathological gamblers by circulating copies of their photographic IDs to landbased betting shops, located in the areas where the gamblers live or work. The idea is that when the employees in the betting shop recognise the gambler as self-excluded, they would immediately ask him or her to leave the premises. As became clear after the BBC investigation, this is not always the case.
“Self-Excluded” Reporter Investigates on 21 Betting Shops
Reporter Rob Cave visited the town of Grimsby, pretended to be a compulsive gambler, and enrolled in the self-exclusion scheme of multi-operator The Senet Group. Cave had his photograph and name circulated around 21 betting shops in Grimsby.
He later returned and succeeded in placing bets on the FOBTs (fixed-odds betting terminals) in 16 of them before he was finally recognised as self-excluded and was asked to leave. In one venue, where the employees obviously failed to recognise him as a self-excluded gambler, Cave was even offered non-alcoholic beverages like tea and coffee to make his gambling experience more pleasant.
The results of the investigation caused many to doubt the efficacy of a self-exclusion scheme which relies solely on pieces of paper with problem gamblers’ details and photographs on top.
The UKGC Plans to Make Further Enquiries into the Case
The UK Gambling Commission addressed the issue and expressed its concerns following the results of the BBC investigation. The Commission’s Executive Director, Sarah Gardner, revealed the gambling regulator plans on making further enquiries into the case with the “self-excluded” BBC reporter. Gardner stressed on the introduction of improvements that aim at making betting operators put more effort into minimising the harms, associated with problem gambling.
She explained gambling businesses should intervene and prevent their customers from developing a problem in the first place, before there is any need for them to self-exclude. The Commission’s Executive Director concluded by saying that the industry is getting to a stage where it is impossible for businesses not to take the harm of gambling addiction seriously.
Following the investigation, the Association of British Bookmakers released an official statement and referred to the results as “disappointing”. The spokesperson of the Association emphasised on the fact the test of the self-exclusion scheme was carried out in artificial circumstances over a short period of time and the sample of 21 betting shops was way too small.
The spokesperson of the Association explained the reporter in disguise was a stranger to the employees of the tested betting shops whereas many of the self-excluded players were locals. The results of an independently conducted review revealed as many as 83% of the participants in the current self-exclusion scheme admit it is efficient and has enabled them to reduce their gambling activities. Meanwhile, 71% of the participants in the survey have confirmed they have not returned to the betting shops they have self-excluded from.
The Association of the British Bookmakers ended its statement by acknowledging the current self-exclusion scheme has its flaws but is continually subjected to improvements which aim at increasing its efficacy.
- Author
Daniel Williams
