The residents of Jersey and Guernsey might soon find themselves unable to purchase £10 scratch cards. As reported by the Jersey Evening Post, the Crown Dependencies are going to examine £10 scratch cards and their supposed role in exacerbating gambling harm. Depending on the review’s results, the Channels Islands Lottery could cease selling such products to its clients. As highlighted in a pre-pandemic Health Impact Assessment published earlier this year, almost 80% of Guernsey’s population gambles, and scratch cards are the second most popular form of gambling on the island.
Deputy Steve Ahier was among those to raise concerns regarding scratch cards. During a sitting held last week, he addressed Economic Development Minister Kirsten Morel and questioned the appropriateness of selling such cards. The UK’s National Lottery, he argued, has not sold £10 scratch cards since 2019 because of data gathered by the UK Gambling Commission suggesting that they play a role in facilitating addiction.
According to the Jersey Evening Post, Deputy Morel responded by saying that £10 scratch cards are among the factors that will be examined as part of the Jersey and Guernsey review into the Channel Islands Lottery’s licence. Deputy Ahier asked for a more concrete answer and focused specifically on whether there were plans to scrap £10 cards as soon as possible, but Deputy Morel once again stressed that the review was underway. Deputy Morel also answered inquiries regarding other potential measures that could be implemented to help address problem gambling, including limits on how much residents can spend on scratch cards.
Calls for Measures Against Problem Gambling Have Also Been Made in the UK
Apart from Jersey and Guernsey, the UK might also see new gambling harm prevention measures introduced in the future. Last week, gambling charity GamCare made a couple of proposals surrounding problem gambling in Britain and how it can be tackled. Casino Guardian reported on how the charity organisation urged companies to better support their employees when it comes to gambling addiction. The recently commenced UEFA EURO 2024 and a survey by YouGov were the main reasons behind GamCare’s plea, seeing as YouGov data has revealed that not even 10% of British employees have access to employer-provided services when it comes to problem gambling.
GamCare also addressed the UK’s banking sector in a report titled “Business banking debt and gambling harm.” The report focused primarily on how some individuals have misused business funds to fuel their gambling indulgences. “For some of our clients, gambling had put their business under extra financial strain,” commented Dawn Jennings, Business Debtline, who also noted that some individuals were even forced to close their establishments because of wagering. Another person cited in the report was Michelle Franklin, who spoke about how her son had used money from the family business account in order to gamble. This eventually escalated into “thousands of gambling transactions” that were at no point questioned by the family’s bank. She finished by saying the following: “We lost our home, our business, and nearly lost our son…”
With the above factors in mind, GamCare is calling for the financial services sector to begin awareness campaigns and train staff to better tackle gambling harm. GamCare is also urging for the introduction of measures that will have banks block gambling transactions on business accounts, monitor transactions in order to spot and prevent problem gambling, intervene when necessary, and provide support to those affected.
- Author
Daniel Williams
