The Guardian view on gambling: a public health approach is a good bet | Editorial

The regulation of internet gambling was left out of the last government’s online harms bill. So far, Labour’s plans for the industry are opaque. But the industry’s rapid growth, coupled with growing concern about problem gambling in the UK and around the world, means ministers deserve to come under pressure if they don’t clarify their intentions soon. The sports minister Tracey Crouch resigned in 2018 when a pledge to cap the stakes on fixed-odds betting terminals was delayed. Six years on, proposals to cap the stakes on digital slot machines are up in the air, after last year’s white paper was shelved. Also on hold are the introduction of a statutory levy on businesses to pay for research and treatment, and the creation of an ombudsman.

Arguably even more concerning is the lack of any clear direction on restricting gambling advertising, which has become ubiquitous in sport, and particularly football. Recent research showed that Premier League fans were bombarded with almost 30,000 advertisements on a single weekend, with half of clubs found to have promoted betting on webpages aimed at children. In 2023 the Guardian banned all gambling advertising, because of the risks. Meanwhile, the NHS has doubled the number of specialist clinics in England to 15.

Increased taxes on betting and gaming companies, which had revenues of £15bn in the year to March 2023 (or £11bn if the lottery is excluded), are expected to feature in the budget. But fiscal decisions must not obscure the troubling impact of gambling on public health. Last week’s report from the Lancet medical journal grouped gambling with tobacco, alcohol and other “unhealthy commodity industries”, and argued convincingly that governments and regulators should strive for a common approach.

This would include a recognition of corporate practices designed to influence both consumer behaviour and regulation – and a robust challenge to the industry’s preferred framing. This treats problem gambling, like other addictions and obesity, as the result of poor choices by individuals, rather than as the predictable result of an environment in which people are encouraged to adopt risky habits. A public health approach points towards population-level interventions, such as age limits and restrictions on advertising, as well as treatment and advice. Crucially, it insists on precautionary as well as remedial steps.

Digital technology, the Lancet’s experts point out, has – in relation to gambling but also other areas – outpaced our understanding of how people are affected. With smartphones functioning as pocket casinos, the gambling industry’s phenomenal growth means an estimated 80 million adults globally are already problem gamblers, with their overall losses predicted to reach $700bn by 2028. Where patterns have been studied, including in Africa, these are skewed towards people who are more economically deprived. Men are far more likely than women to be problem gamblers. As well as financial hardship and debt, there are links to suicide, mood disorders and domestic abuse.

Despite all these concerns, the international trend continues to be towards liberalisation. Given the digital and mobile nature of the industry, there is a powerful case for joint action by governments as well as tighter national regulations. At the very least, some means must be found to protect young people, who are vulnerable to gambling, as they are to other online harms. Ministers in the UK and elsewhere should seize this bull by the horns.