A helpline that has been specially designed for problem gamblers in Ireland and funded by the gambling industry has been lacking staff for almost a month. GambleAware was also promoted by local bookmakers as part of their responsible gambling policies. The service is currently one of the largest and most prominent services for players who are dealing with problem gambling behaviour. The failure of the gambling addicts helpline has raised concerns that the local Government is not making enough progress in establishing an independent regulator.
The Times reported that it has called the helpline several times over the last week, and none of the phone calls made was answered. The line was redirected to a mailbox for voice messages, which was full at the time of the calls. The website of the service, GambleAware.ie, and its phone number is listed as part of gambling operator’s responsible gambling programmes, but it seems that it has not received enough funding from the local gambling industry since its launch back in 2011.
For some time now, GambleAware has been criticising the attitude of the local gambling industry towards problem gambling. The charity organisation which operates to raise nation-wide awareness of gambling-related harm and treat gambling addictions has previously alarmed that it had not been receiving enough funding from local gambling operators.
Changes in Gambling Addiction Services Need to Be Made Soon
At the time when it became clear that the GambleAware helpline remains unattained, one of the gambling counsellors of Problem Gambling Ireland – Barry Grant – shared that the fact that the helpline has not redirected its calls to another service was even more worrying, especially during the World Cup. Mr. Grant explained that vulnerable people had been left without any support when they needed it and shared that Problem Gambling Ireland’s line had been reached by people who had tried to access GambleAware first, but with no success.
For some time now, Ireland has been waiting for its gambling legislation to be made more up to date, with special attention set to be paid on issues related to problem gambling. The new piece of legislation, the Gambling Control Bill 2018, has already reached the committee stage but there has not been any movement yet. The bill proposes a special levy to be imposed on local gambling operators, with the proceeds from the tax set to be used for a social fund aimed at helping problem gamblers.
The parliamentary group which backed the changes set to be brought by the new piece of legislation used the opportunity to comment on the case and said that what happened came to show that Irish authorities could not depend on the industry to help problem gamblers but they have to depend on their own strength to take care of customer protection and support. In addition, it said that the voluntary participation principle did not seem to be working, so some changes must be brought as soon as possible.
- Author
Daniel Williams
