BETTER CHANGE
with. Tackling addiction is a complex issue and covers a range of social and psychological factors; to get to the root causes we need to collaborate industry wide to build a deeper understanding of gambling and indeed human behaviour. Unfortunately with the soon to be introduced levy to tackle gambling harms in the UK it has been decided that those receiving funding for research, prevention and treatment are forbidden from working with the industry, you couldn’t make it up.
such as “Please Play Responsibly” which put the onus on the individual to act were replaced with “let’s talk about gambling” which was more open suggesting a two-way narrative and collaboration. I get it and I understand the reason it happened but I do not agree. When it comes to who is responsible for responsible gambling, it’s the gambler. I struggle to see how it could be otherwise.
To lay the blame for gambling harm solely at the industries door is unjust, to expect the industry to be able to reduce harm by simply limiting, blocking, banning, restricting and stigmatising is naïve at best, reckless at worse. People should be accountable for their own actions and as an industry we should move heaven and earth to create an environment that is conducive to responsible or as we at Better Change like to call it Positive Play. There will be instances where individuals will need support, often the root cause of their issues may be something different from gambling. From my experience working in treatment, adverse childhood experiences, trauma and poor mental health would be the cause of disordered behaviour in the majority of cases. In these situations we should have adequate access to professional support services, it can never be the role of the gambling operator to provide a diagnosis the best they can do is identify signs of harm early and signpost where required, but ultimately it is the gambler and the gambler alone that will decide to gamble or not.
It is early days in terms of current gambling reform in the UK but already there are backlogs of customers awaiting safer gambling
20 OCTOBER 2024
The vast majority of the gambling public are blissfully unaware of the perpetual wrangling we have as an industry on how best to keep them safe and at Better Change we feel that it is voice that is very much missing from the conversation. Whilst there is an important community of people with lived experience of gambling harm that provides valuable insight for our industry, we seldom hear from those who gamble safely, who exercise control and experience few to no negative consequences, yet this is the majority of people who gamble. Our player panels provide insight from those who play which contributes a great deal to how we should approach player safety, look out for our panels at coming events.
When it comes
to who is responsible for responsible gambling, it’s the gambler. I struggle to see how it could be otherwise
interactions from operators where blanket financial restrictions have been reached. One provider estimated that 60% of those awaiting an interaction would be able to continue gambling, showing that we are inflating the numbers of those deemed to be at risk whilst at the same time making it harder to spot those who genuinely need support. At the same time we are creating a poor customer experience where those who are unable to gamble with their chosen provider pending an interaction, may seek alternative, perhaps riskier ways to gamble. This is backed up by claims from the Betting and Gaming Council that illegal gambling in the UK is increasing with an estimated 1.5 million people spending £4.3 billion each year. Hardly an environment conducive to responsible gambling but one that is a result of an industry being held to task on an issue that it is poorly equipped to deal
If you are out and about, I hope you have a great conference season. If you are fortunate enough to be speaking and you have something to say, then say it! After all… what’s the worst that could happen?
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 profile and ensure sufficient 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.
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