Public Health England (PHE) has published its first evidence review of gambling-related harm on the territory of England. Now, the landmark study has provided information about the actual cost of problem gambling to the economy, saying it hit the £1.27-billion mark in 2019/2020 in England alone.
In 2019, the PHE was commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care to carry out a review of the evidence on gambling harms. Allegedly, the review includes the most thorough estimate of the economic costs faced by society as a result of gambling.
The massive financial costs to the country’s economy, such as employment and bankruptcy issues, are not the only negative consequence of gambling addiction which has been having an extremely harmful effect on affected people’s health and personal lives, as it resulted in family and relationship breakdowns across the country.
The review found that residents who are at risk of being affected by gambling harm usually live in highly-deprived areas, such as the North of England. The study also found that such people may have already been affected by more health harm than residents of other areas. For example, the report indicated a visible connection between higher levels of alcohol consumption and problem gambling, with almost 75% of the people consuming more than 50 units of alcohol per week also gambled. Also, underage individuals who used alcohol were more likely to subsequently develop problem gambling behaviour.
Poor Mental Health Associated with Most Serious Signs of Gambling-Related Harm, Study Shows
As mentioned above, the study found a strong link between mental health issues and harmful gambling, with the report revealing that gambling is able to boost the chance of some people thinking about suicide, attempting to take their own lives or eventually succeeding to do so. According to evidence gathered over the course of the study, people who suffer from problem gambling are at least twice as likely to die from suicide in comparison to the general population.
It also turns out that both gender and poor mental health were the most serious signs of harm linked to gambling. The research found that men were 4.2 times more likely to be gambling at harmful levels than women. Also, people who suffered from some mental health issues were twice more likely to take part in compulsive gambling that could do them harm than people who did not have any mental health issues. Furthermore, individuals suffering from a mental health condition were 2.4 times more likely to experience harm while gambling than people with no mental health condition.
The evidence brought to life by Public Health England suggests that excessive gambling should be addressed as a serious public health issue due to the fact that it is associated with various types of harm that could be inflicted not only to individuals suffering from problem gambling but also their families, friends and communities.
This is exactly why PHE has insisted on the competent authorities adopting an approach that is focused not only on treatment but also on prevention and early intervention. Also, the new Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) is set to collaborate with other Government departments, including the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in order to make sure it develops an efficient strategy to address the challenges associated with problem gambling and gambling-related harm faced by English people.
- Author
Daniel Williams
