A new report from the UK Gambling Commission—done with the advocacy group GambleAware and the UK Responsible Gambling Board—calls for mapping out a new methodology to quantify the harm caused by problem gambling.
The report calls for views on how the social cost of gambling-related harms can be measured and better understood.
The report seeks to create a new methodology that, among other things, that sets a definition of gambling-related harms that can be used by policy makers and public health officials. The methodology would also study economic impact of gambling-related harms, set a framework for action that considers how the impact of harms can be felt by individuals, families and communities and identify the most effective way to estimate the social cost of gambling-related harms.
Gambling Commission Chief Executive, Neil McArthur said: “While the majority of consumers can enjoy gambling without experiencing harm, we cannot forget the devastating effects it can have on some individuals, families and communities,” said Neil McArthur, chief executive of the commission in a press release. “This report shows significant progress in understanding those effects and measuring the impacts on wider society and the economy as a whole. We do not see this as a definitive position. It’s very much a work in progress. We encourage public health officials, academics, the industry and the public to feed back on the report and work with us to set a framework that can help prevent harm to consumers.”
In another story, the UK National Council on Problem Gambling has announced it supports implementation of a new self-exclusion technology called GameSecure from Bencon Technologies.
GameSecure allows at-risk gamblers to self-exclude from all online gambling sites in a jurisdiction at the same time, rather than having to self-exclude from each company’s site one-by-one.
“We really support this initiative,” said Keith Whyte, Executive Director of the NCPG. “GameSecure provides a timely and much-needed option for regulators and operators to use technology to solve a major problem in regulated gaming today. Currently even well-intentioned self-exclusion programs fail players and operators because they do not provide coverage and support seamlessly across a jurisdiction. We strongly encourage all stakeholders to adopt innovative programs like GameSecure as an ethical and effective way to conduct gaming responsibly and reduce the social costs of gambling addiction.”
