Gambling addiction: NHS to stop accepting funds from gambling industry to end conflict of interest

The NHS will no longer accept funds from the gambling industry for the treatment of addicts.
The NHS will no longer accept funds from the gambling industry for the treatment of addicts.The NHS will no longer accept funds from the gambling industry for the treatment of addicts.
The NHS will no longer accept funds from the gambling industry for the treatment of addicts.

Claire Murdoch, NHS England's national mental health director, has written to the grant-making charity GambleAware to inform it that starting from April 1, the NHS will fully fund its own gambling services.

It comes as the NHS is preparing to open two new gambling clinics in Southampton and Stoke-on-Trent in response to increased demand. This will bring the total number of specialist clinics in England to seven.

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The decision follows feedback from patients and clinicians opposing the conflict of interest from the gambling industry, which generates profits of over £14 billion a year in the UK, in funding treatment for addiction.

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Research published by Public Health England (now the UK Health Security Agency) last September also estimated around 0.5 per cent of the adult population – around 2.2 million people – are likely to have some form of gambling addiction.

Ms Murdoch said: “Gambling addiction is a cruel mental health condition that can devastate people’s lives – our pilot clinics are already having a lasting impact in helping people to take back vital control of their lives.

“The opening of two new gambling clinics in May, as a part of our £2.3 billion investment into mental health services, will mean we can help even more people with the most serious gambling problems.

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“It is also absolutely right that the NHS now funds these clinics independently, recognising the harmful effects this addiction can have on the nation’s mental health, and that predatory tactics from gambling companies are part of the problem, not the solution.”

At-risk gamblers are most common in the north of England

The north of England has the highest prevalence of at-risk gamblers, with 4.4 per cent of adults in the North West and 4.9 per cent in the North East being at the most risk of addiction.

Between April and December last year, 668 people with the most severe gambling addiction issues were referred to NHS gambling clinics – up from 575 during the same period in 2020 – a 16.2 per cent increase.

In January, Ms Murdoch also wrote to gambling companies outlining actions they should take to improve the odds for people struggling with addiction.

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Although it has restricted bets taken by credit cards, a change implemented when the Gambling Commission outlawed the practice, the gambling industry continues to offer customers VIP packages and streams live sports, all of which can be potentially harmful to those struggling with addiction.

Health minister Gillian Keegan said: "The detrimental impacts of harmful gambling are stark and widespread - it affects people's savings, relationships and health.

"I am committed to protecting people harmed by gambling, including through supporting treatment and recovery at the specialist NHS gambling addiction clinics as part of the NHS Long-term Plan investment of £15 million to expand these specialist services."

Zoe Osmond, chief executive of GambleAware, reportedly welcomed the two new clinics.

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She said: "We look forward to continuing to work with the NHS and supporting them to provide an integrated solution to preventing and treating gambling harm.

"GambleAware is the leading charity driving transformation and prevention services and leading public health campaigns, working to deliver against our vision to keep people safe from gambling harms."