NHS director calls for gambling firms to be taxed to fund addiction treatment
Claire Murdoch, national mental health director for NHS England, argues that voluntary contributions from gambling firms are “a drop in the ocean” compared to their revenues.
UK.- Claire Murdoch, national mental health director for NHS England, has called for a compulsory tax on gambling in the UK to fund addiction treatment.
She told The Guardian that the current system of voluntary contributions allows the industry to dictate how much it wants to help those with gambling problems.
Murdoch said 750 people had been referred to specialist clinics for treatment of serious addiction since April 2020. The health service is planning to open more gambling clinics across the country because it believes the current level of treatment is only “the tip of the iceberg.”
Murdoch said: “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.
“In a year when the NHS has dealt with our biggest challenge yet in Covid-19, the health service’s psychologists and nurses having been treating hundreds of people with severe gambling addictions.
“The gambling industry must take more responsibility, as the nation has come together over the last year to support the NHS, whether it be volunteering as vaccinators or showing their gratitude to staff.
“The bookmakers must also step up and agree to a mandatory levy to pay for dealing with the harms of problem gambling.”
The UK government is currently reviewing gambling legislation. Although the government has previously shied away from imposing a mandatory levy to fund treatment, it is now among measures being considered.
The review is being overseen by the department for digital, culture media and sport (DCMS).
The Betting and Gaming Council told The Guardian: “For over 20 years our industry has been the sole funder of research, education and treatment and 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.
“Alongside these contributions to GambleAware, our members also contribute significant funding to a broad range of charities and organisations to directly support research, education and treatment – this includes £10m for the Young People’s Gambling Harm Prevention Programme which targets all 11- to 19-year-olds across the country, delivered by YGAM and GamCare.”
