NICE’s public consultation to tackle gambling harm
UK gambling-related harm is on the decline as national efforts increase to address the issue.
NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) has launched a public consultation on the development of “Harmful Gambling” guidance.
The consultation aims to create a framework to identify, assess and manage gambling-related harms.
The initiative is part of broader efforts to decrease harmful gambling in the UK.
The most recent NHS Health Survey, covering data from 2021 to 2022, highlighted a decline in the overall problem gambling rate from 0.5% in 2018 to 0.4%.
The survey’s findings further revealed that both men and women have seen reductions in their problem gambling rates. For men, the rate fell from 0.8% in 2018 to 0.6% in 2021, while women experienced a decrease from 0.3% to 0.1% during the same period.
A report by GambleAware highlights the link between early exposure to gambling and gambling-related harms in later life. It revealed that 64% of adults who experience gambling-related harm knew someone who gambled as a child.
According to the report, an obstacle to addressing these issues is the stigma associated with seeking help, with 33% of adults currently experiencing gambling harm not accessing treatment.
Additionally, the report showed that 87% of those currently dealing with significant gaming harms experience relapses despite their efforts to quit.
In other efforts to crack down on harmful gambling, the Kindred Group reported that its share of revenue from harmful gambling had decreased to 3% in the first quarter of 2023 after launching a new initiative.
Such interventions resulted in a reduction of high-risk players from 3.3% of gross winnings revenue in Q4 2022 to 3% in Q1 2023.
Kindred Group’s long-term aim is to eventually derive 0% of its revenue from harmful gambling.
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