Clinicians demand new ‘addiction levy’ on gambling industry

The most senior NHS clinicians treating gambling addiction have called for the gambling industry to face a new multimillion-pound statutory levy to fund the prevention and treatment of gambling-related harm.

In a paper for the Social Market Foundation think-tank, the clinicians propose the creation of a new independent health board to oversee the spending of levy money, which could come to tens of millions of pounds a year.

The paper, written by Professor Henrietta Bowden-Jones, the director of the National Problem Gambling Clinic, and Dr Matt Gaskell, clinical lead for the NHS Northern Gambling Service, also says that the government should set a clear target for reducing gambling-related harm, cutting it by half in five years.

The government is due to unveil a long-awaited review of Britain’s gambling laws. The SMF paper argues that current arrangements for industry support for addiction services are failing badly. At present, some gambling companies make voluntary contributions to approved service providers, with the bulk of their money given to a single charity, GambleAware.

Last month, NHS England severed its links with GambleAware due to concerns over the group’s perceived connection to the gambling industry.

James Noyes, Senior Fellow at the SMF and co-author of the paper, said: “In 2020, a House of Lords Select Committee report stated that it is ‘beyond belief’ that DCMS has steadfastly refused to introduce a statutory levy on the gambling industry. Yet two years on, we have still not seen any progress. This is despite the fact that dozens of leading clinicians, academics, and parliamentarians have called for an end to the current voluntary arrangement between DCMS, GambleAware, and the gambling industry.”

“The government’s benchmark of success for the voluntary system has been undermined by the fact that the industry reneges on its own funding pledges. No system which relies on the good will of the industry can be called truly independent. The current system is broken, and lacks consistency, transparency, and accountability. The Gambling Act Review White Paper is a unique opportunity to fix this broken system and put harm prevention and treatment where it belongs: under the leadership of the Department of Health and Social Care, funded through a proper statutory framework.”