Report

ABSG Progress Report on the National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms – Year Two

ABSG - Year two Progress Report on the National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms

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Published
7 July 2021

Last updated
28 June 2021 - Changes

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Contents

• ABSG Progress Report on the National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms – Year Two

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• Executive summary
• Recommendations
• Introduction
• - Introduction
• - Background
• - Impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) on partnership working
• - Trends in gambling
• - Gambling Act Review
• - Online harms
• Delivery and governance
• - Delivery and governance
• - Progress involving people with lived experience of gambling harms.
• - Mixed picture of national strategic co-ordination of implementation
• - Metrics for measuring harm
• - Evaluation of policy
• - Funding
• - Research
• Prevention and education
• - Prevention and education
• - Improved regulatory protections
• - Suicide and gambling
• - Improved profile of gambling harms as a public health issue
• - Increased engagement from the financial services sector
• - Gambling is not yet fully integrated with local public health activity
• - Increased education and awareness raising activity
• Treatment and support
• - Treatment and support
• - Expansion of treatment and support services in new areas
• - The evidence base for treatment is developing but incomplete
• - Need for more integrated treatment services
• - Clarification of referral pathways required
• - Triage and completed treatments
• - Lack of independent quality assurance
• - Follow-up support
• Conclusions
• Annex 1: Priority Metrics for measurement of National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms

7 - Conclusions

There have been signs of progress towards reducing gambling harms across Scotland, Wales, and England over the past year. The change in mindset about the risks associated with gambling harms as well as the imperative for a multi-agency effort is underway.

Key stakeholders from statutory and third sector organisations have been working together to take action on prevention and treatment. Public health approaches to addressing harm are emerging in Scotland, Wales and regions in England. However, issues in treatment provision, outcome measurement, independent quality assurance and sustainable independent funding remain unresolved.

The involvement of people with lived experience has increased, both nationally and locally and this needs to continue if the Strategy is to succeed. The Commission has strengthened its regulatory interventions on game design and age limits and there is momentum behind further interventions to improve protection. We look forward to the outcomes of work on industry metrics, affordability, customer interaction and the single customer view.

What is also essential to this change in mindset is more research on products and their relationship to risk. Gambling operators have their own insights and we encourage them to share these. Evidence aligns with the views of those with lived experience that type of play, product design, accessibility and marketing are key and have an impact on habits, levels of spend¹⁴⁹ and harm¹⁵⁰.

ABSG has welcomed the Government’s review of the Gambling Act 2005 and the interest that this has generated in addressing gambling harms. However, the process of updating legislation is lengthy, and the momentum to further strengthen regulatory protections in parallel with the review should continue at pace.

References

¹⁴⁹ Exploring online patterns of play, Interim Report (opens in new tab), University of Liverpool, NatCen, March 2021

¹⁵⁰ Biddable Youth (opens in new tab), University of Bristol, 2019

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ABSG RGH year 2 progress report - Treatment and support Next section
ABSG RGH year 2 progress report - Annex 1

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Last updated: 28 June 2021

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