Dr Alan Smith, the Bishop of St Albans, has rolled out a move to bring changes to the inquest laws in order to emphasize on the role that gambling has on gambling addicts who have taken their own life.
Dr Smith has already backed a successful campaign calling for a ban on gambling with credit cards, with the measure set to come into effect on April 14th, 2020. The Bishop of St Albans has also been one of the most proactive campaigners for the long-expected reduction of the maximum stake allowed on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs).
Now, the Private Member’s Bill of Dr Smith has been introduced into the House of Lords, seeking to make it obligatory to coroners to include problem gambling among the circumstances that push someone to take their own life. According to estimates provided by campaigners, two suicides linked to gambling happen every working day.
The Bishop of St Albans has explained that he decided to propose the piece of legislation to help the Government start dealing with the negative consequences of gambling-related harm. He further noted that there are many families whose lives have been destroyed by the loss of a loved one. Often, it is young adults who become victims of suicide, and in many cases, it is related to gambling. According to Dr Alan Smith, there is currently no thorough and accurate data linking gambling with suicide.
Dr Alan Smith Hopes Both Gambling Companies and the UK Government Will Back the Bill
In a statement related to the newly-proposed piece of legislation, Dr Smith shared he expected to see the Bill change the status quo. He reminded that, if approved, the Bill would make sure there are accurate records showing gambling as a reason in the relevant suicides nation-wide on an annual basis. He further noted that the revelations could be shocking to UK policymakers but, in any case, they would be helpful when it comes to opening the eyes of society to the problem.
The Bishop of St Albans hopes that his Bill will be backed by both the gambling companies that offer their services in the UK and the Government, as the piece of legislation would provide data that has not been recorded so far. Health-care professionals would be able to take into consideration the data that would be available as a result of the bill, and this, on the other hand, would help them understand the actual scale of the problem.
In May 2019, the Court of Appeal for England and Wales announced a ruling that is possible to boost the number of deaths recorded as suicide. The ruling, however, has reduced the standard of proof for a suicide conclusion to the balance of probabilities, which is the civil standard.
- Author
Daniel Williams
