GamCare responds to consultation on UK gambling legislation
The charity GamCare has added its voice to calls for more investment in the UK for gaming regulation and to tackle problem gambling.
UK.- The charity GamCare has submitted its response to the UK government’s consultation on its review of the 2005 Gambling Act.
Like fellow charity GambleAware, GamCare has also called for more investment in research, education and treatment programmes to protect and support those at risk of gambling-related harms.
Unlike GambleAware, it stopped short of calling for a mandatory levy on gambling operators, but said that more investment was needed to ensure that victims of gambling harms must have access to free and confidential advice.
It said its own research had found that 64 per cent of respondents believed that existing resources for gambling harm treatment were inefficient.
GamCare, which runs the UK’s National Gambling Helpline, said that funding should provide inclusive support particularly aimed at young adults, women and members of BAME communities, who are under-represented in treatment services.
More resources needed for gambling regulation
The charity also called for the creation of a new consumer ombudsman to deal with complaints about gambling operators from the public.
It said that more resources were needed for industry regulation to reflect the “size and scale of the gambling sector”.
It also suggested that the government promote GamCare’s Safer Gambling quality mark for licenced operators as a sign of best practice for consumers.
The UK government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) invited a number of stakeholders to respond to its consultation after opening its review of the 2005 Gambling Act last year.
