Commission to conduct research into links between problem gambling and crime
A Crime and Problem Gambling Commission is to undergo a research programme after a review revealed links between crime and problem gambling worldwide.
The Commission was set up in 2019 by national charity the Howard League for Penal Reform, with its academic literature review into jurisdictions such as Australasia, US, Canada, Scandinavia, Germany and the UK finding high rates of crime being committed to fund gambling.
While the “quantity of the research is not huge,” it shows a wide variety of crimes are as a result of gambling addiction, such as theft and fraud, but also offences in public spaces such as street robbery. Evidence also suggests domestic abuse and child neglect is linked to problem gambling.
The review suggests that, while there is a growing understanding that gambling addiction is a behavioural disorder, this isn’t being translated to prison sentencing like other addictions are.
The Commission will conduct research to further establish what the exact links between problem gaming and crime are, the impact they have on communities and society, and what measures can be taken to reduce crime.
Lord Goldsmith QC, Commission on Crime and Problem Gambling chair, said: “Concern about harmful gambling activity has been growing for some time.
“The criminal justice system itself does very little work to capture the scale of the challenge and even less in terms of offering interventions like those we see for alcohol or drug problems.
“This has to change and our Commission can play a key role in improving the response to disordered gambling and crime.”
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