BETTER CHANGE
trauma of what was happening in their life and sadly there was no amount of limit setting, stake reducing of self-excluding that would have addressed the root cause of this person’s trauma. By not challenging these issues the industry has seemed to have taken responsibility for more than its fair share of the blame but also got itself into a situation where it can not address some of the issues it is charged with causing or exasperating.
During my time working in Gambling addiction treatment the data from our service users told us that the number one cause of gambling harm was adverse childhood experiences, these led to instances of trauma in later life, mental health issues, abuse, disordered use of substances such as drugs or alcohol and of course gambling. One person in recovery from gambling addiction told me of their journey including the issues that they had faced as a child and said that by the time they were old enough to gamble, so much had happened to them that in their own words “It wasn’t going to end well”.
Fortunately, these severe cases of gambling harm and addiction affect a very small percentage of the population and for the vast majority, good customer service, regular interaction, use of safer gambling tools and encouraging better gambling literacy will continue to keep them safe and prevent harm. But due to external circumstances and a vulnerability created by adverse experiences and trauma there will always be a small amount of people who will need specialist support and for whom we need to work hard to prevent gambling from making their situation worse. There are a number of things we can do to support this.
Firstly, we need to change the narrative and the perception that people developing serious gambling issues is the norm. Lived experience of gambling harm represents one voice but we need the voice of the majority of people who gamble safely to add balance, we can learn just as much if not more about safer gambling from people who can gamble safely. The other part is that we need to have the courage challenge misinformation. The instances I eluded to earlier in this piece included the industry being accused of sending people into schools to infl uence children through education programmes they funded, deliberately taking advantage of seriously ill customers and preying on the vulnerable, as well as grossly infl ated fi gures on gambling related suicides, not to mention the negative consequences of people using illegal sites over which we have no control. It needs to stop, using these highly emotive soundbites to try and get a product banned, reduce stakes or limit advertising will not get to the root cause of the issues.
Secondly, we must be seen as part of the solution as opposed to being part of the problem. We have a unique opportunity in our industry to engage with a wide demographic of people through online chats and through conversations in land-based venues where often
trust and good relationships are formed. It is not unusual for our customers to disclose information about their wellbeing or their circumstances, therefore it is important that we have an adequate toolkit at our disposal to be able to act. We cannot diagnose anxiety or depression nor are we qualifi ed to provide counselling if someone is grieving, but we can signpost them to organisations who can. It is also important to demonstrate our industries positive impact on society. At a recent event I spoke with a Managing Director of a major brand who through their sponsorships had encouraged over a quarter of a million football fans to learn CPR in partnership with the British Heart Foundation as well as raising over £1million towards treating prostate cancer through a darts initiative. Both campaigns have without doubt saved lives and I am sure there is more our industry has done it is just a shame that good news does not travel as quick as bad!
Please do get in touch if you would like more information on the topics discussed this month, there are also free resources available around colleague welfare on our website www.
better-change.org Play Positively. Rob
Rob Mabbett
Rob joined Better Change from the charity Gordon Moody where he spent 5 years running their international gambling helpline “Gambling Therapy” as well as helping to raise their profi le and ensure suffi cient treatment spaces were available in their residential treatment centres to meet demand. With over 12 years industry experience, including being a previous winner of the Racing Post and SiS Betting Shop Manager of the Year award, Rob brings a unique insight into the
prevention and treatment of
gambling harm and is keen to focus his efforts further upstream as we aim to
prevent against gambling harm at Better
Change through Positive Play.
JUNE 2025 25
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