BMJ says gambling industry should “prove lack of harm”
The British Medical Journal (BMJ) has responded to the British government’s review of gambling legislation, arguing that the industry shouldn’t be left to set its own responsible gambling guidelines.
UK.- The highly regarded medical publication, the British Medical Journal (BMJ), has weighed in on the issue of responsible gambling in its response to the government’s review of gambling legislation.
Ahead of the pending release of the government’s white paper on gambling, the BMJ dedicated an editorial to the matter in which it argues that the industry should not be involved in decisions regarding gambling harm prevention.
The BMJ’s editorial criticises the gambling industry for “downstream” approach to the prevention of gambling harm, claiming that industry-backed groups focused on support for players at risk instead of tackling the causes of gambling harm.
It also said that allowing the industry to be involved in decisions on gambling measures represented a conflict of interest, and said the government should require the gambling industry to prove a lack of harm.
The editorial reads: “We do not allow tobacco companies to design tobacco control policies, yet the gambling industry, through the organisations it funds, shapes our responses to the harms.
“A public health approach would learn from the growing research on commercial determinants of health and how concepts such as corporate social responsibility are often abused.”
The BMJ suggested that gambling harm must be studied as a whole, as evidence suggested gambling could be damaging to health.
It said: “With a looming cost of living crisis, is it really acceptable for many families to contribute substantial amounts of their diminishing disposable income to gambling companies, exploited by pervasive advertising holding out illusory prospects of winnings?
“As accounts emerge of families forced to choose between heating their homes and feeding themselves, we cannot stand back while their hopes are exploited to benefit the industry through the coercion of circumstance.”
