the frustration around losses; betting shop staff are quite often at risk, because problem gamblers become angry when they lose. You have massive ripple effects that are currently not addressed at policy and practice level. If the numbers we are finding hold true across the whole of the UK, then problem gambling is having an impact on far more people than official figures suggest. IN NEED OF A SOLUTION I would never want to ban gambling. I do not think you could, nor would it be a good idea. People have gambled for millennia, and most gamblers do not come to any harm. You can get a rush; it can be enjoyable; you can (although most people do not) win a lot of money. There are safer forms of gambling. The People’s Postcode Lottery and other charity lotteries that do not have scratchcards or rapid online play games are much safer than the National Lottery, which has both; bingo in a bingo club is a lot safer than online, and a lot less likely to produce addiction. Unfortunately, gambling companies make most of their money from those people with a problem; the industry is not regulated effectively; and we do not have an easily accessible treatment service. In the 2005 Gambling Act, the UK government decided on a polluter-pays principle. The gambling companies are causing the damage, and therefore pay towards treatment. But they do this through a voluntary donation to Gamble Aware, and a lot of gambling companies give very little money. Overall, the UK gambling industry makes around £14bn a year in profit. Between April 2022 and December 2022, the charity received a total of £13,209,805.12 to fund treatment, research and gambling awareness education. I have said in evidence to Parliament, that we need about £2.6bn to run an effective gambling treatment service. The companies can afford that, but it would have to be through a levy, the government would have to make it the law. Finally, with the release of the Government White Paper in April, it appears that might come to pass – with the proposal for a 1% levy being imposed, which would amount to around £140 million. It remains to be seen if this becomes law, as the White Paper itself was delayed so many times that there is no guarantee of when legislation will come to pass. If £2.6bn is eventually raised, that amount would mean spending roughly what is spent per year on treating a Class A drug addict on each gambling addict. I do not think that would be an unreasonable amount. First, we need to establish the extent of the problem. Hopefully, our project will lead to larger-scale research, and we can do just that. FIFTY FOUR DEGREES | 33 Dr Carolyn Downs is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Marketing. Her research expertise encompasses the gambling industry and problem gambling. Dr Downs is part of the Implementation of Modified Lie/Bet Gambling Screen in Blackpool and Lancaster Mental Health Referral Settings project, funded by the ESRC (Economic and Social Sciences Research Council) Impact Acceleration Fund. She is working alongside colleagues in Lancaster University Management School and Lancaster University Psychology Department, as well as the Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust mental health teams, the Blackburn Foodbank, and Blackpool Citizens Advice Bureau. c.downs@lancaster.ac.uk In the UK, GamCare and Gamblers Anonymous offer help, support, and advice for people with a gambling problem. More information can be found on their websites: GamCare: www.gamcare.org.uk Gamblers Anonymous: www.gamblersanonymous.org.uk In the North of England, the following NHS Gambling Clinics are available: NHS Leeds and York Partnership (NHS Foundation Trust). Merrion House, Merrion Way, Leeds, LS2 8PD. Sunderland. Beacon of Light, Stadium Park, Sunderland, SR5 1SN. NHS Northern Gambling Service. HQ, Hamill at the Quays, Clippers Quay, Salford Quays, M50 3XP. The service can be contacted across England by telephone on 0300 300 1490.
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