Lewis Pek Editor
Comment
December 2021
Figures released by the UK Gambling Commission in September showed that statistically, more people than ever before are now playing online; more women are participating in online gambling than ever and more 55-64 year olds are currently playing online than at any time previously.
Gambling treatment provider, UKAT, issued a press release commenting upon these figures saying that the rise in play could be “instigating a crisis like no other.” Now I’m fairly jaundiced about crises after the last 18 months. I see more people playing the National Lottery during the pandemic (which is where most of the play has been concentrated) as significantly less problematic than the actual pandemic. But it’s the clashing of gears that is most confusing.
The big argument during the early days of the pandemic was that more play equalled more harm. The thinking being that if more bottles of champagne are sold over Christmas and New Year, the result is more alcoholics.
IF MORE BOTTLES OF CHAMPAGNE ARE SOLD OVER CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR, IS THE RESULT MORE ALCOHOLICS?
The problem with that discourse is that the UK Gambling Commission released its Annual Problem Gambling Report in July, showing that the overall gambling problem rate in the UK from June 2020-21 fell to 0.4 per cent. The moderate risk rate also significantly decreased to 0.7 per cent.
Online gambling participation has risen by double digits since June 2020, but to use the figure to illustrate the idea of gambling running out of control, when the opposite is happening, is misleading at best. More people are playing than ever before, but the instance of problem gambling has fallen - and’ significantly,’ which is the word used by the Gambling Commission. I don’t understand the need to use statistics to tell a false narrative? The number of problem gambling cases still runs into the hundreds of thousands. So even if it’s not millions, that’s a massive number that needs addressing. Though I guess if you’re trying to sway public opinion ahead of the Gambling Review, all tactics are viable.
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G3 Magazine Editor Lewis Pek
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Contributors Per Jaldung, Erwin van Lambaart, Jeannette Gilbert, Henrik Norsk Hoffmann, Allan Auning-Hansen, Raymond Pittel, Ian Cooper, Adi Dhandhania, William Woodhams, Araz Heydariyehzadeh, Michael Bauer, Todd Haushalter, Anna Gapanov, Girts Spridzans, David Mann, Anthony Sammut, Rob Procter, Jonas Delin, Petra Maria Poola, Julian Jarvis, Levon Hambardzumyan, Stian Enger, Andrew MacLean, Shane Cotter, Asha Fitgerald, Andres Rengifo
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