Every three years, the U.K. Gambling Commission releases a three-year strategy plan. The commission will focus on five priorities: protection from problem gambling; better-informed customers; keeping crime out of gambling; getting the most out of charitable donations from the National Lottery; and increasing effective regulation.
Eliminating crime and elevating protections for vulnerable populations are the two areas that differed from the 2018-2021 plan.
The annual business plan from April 2021 through March 2022 was also modified to accommodate the coronavirus pandemic impact. Another element revolves around firms competing for the next National Lottery license, and at the same time getting the most of the existing license.
The Commission also wants to make sure operators comply with increased player protections in the next 12 months while stressing the Gambling Act review. The business plan deals with strengthening affordability checks, eliminating reverse withdrawals and tightening regs on bonus offers.
Income projections for the next year show that 34 percent of revenues expect to come from the betting sector, 26 percent from casinos, 12 percent from software, 8 percent each from machines, lotteries and arcades, and 4 percent from bingo.
Staff expenditures expect to comprise 73 percent of costs, with the remainder allocated to IT, professional fees, office and administrative, research, recruitment and training.
In related news, the head of mental health in England said gambling companies should pay a compulsory levy to fund treatment of gambling addiction. Claire Murdoch, national mental health director for NHS England, said the voluntary system of letting the industry dictate its contributions is not enough.
Murdoch said 750 people have been referred for treatment of serious addiction since April 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic had just started to take a toll. The health service has plans to open more clinics to meet the demand, according to The Guardian.
Pandemic-fueled lockdowns triggered a rise in online casino play leading to revenue jumps for Paddy Power owner Flutter and Ladbrokes Coral owner Entain.
“After seeing the destruction the gambling industry has caused to young people in this country, it is clear that firms are focused on profit at the expense of people’s health, while the NHS is increasingly left to pick up the pieces,” she said. “The health service’s psychologists and nurses have been treating hundreds of people with severe gambling addictions.
According to studies, between 300,000 and 1.4 million gambling addicts exist in Great Britain, but one report said only 3 percent seek help.
Labour’s Carolyn Harris, who chairs a cross-party group of MPs examining gambling harm, said: “The treatment and support services available for people with gambling addiction in this country are vastly underfunded. The industry should not get to decide when and how much they pay for the devastation they cause.”
The voluntary system has raised between £10 million (US$13.7 million) and £15 million a year. In 2019, the largest gambling companies pledged an extra £100 million by 2023 to stave off a mandatory tax. But gambling charities say the funds are slow to come in.
Funding goes through non-NHS services, such as the GamCare charity, but the government has fought to expand with two new specialist gambling clinics, with 14 more to follow.
“Too often gambling addiction is yet another burden thrust on our NHS and other services when the damage has been done,” Conservative MP Richard Holden said. “I really hope that the gambling review highlights this as part of the full package of measures we need.”
The review of the Gambling Act 2005, now underway, could include a mandatory levy.
The industry trade group, the Betting & Gaming Council (BGC), said the industry has been the only funding source for research and treatment. “We welcome the recent decision by the NHS to work with the charity administering the funding, GambleAware, to create clinics to help treat problem gamblers,” the BGC said in a statement.
