The gambling industry is at a ‘ crucial juncture ’, the recent Lancet Public Health Commission on Gambling reported , as it becomes more and more digital in nature and the lines between gambling and gaming become increasingly blurred ( DDN , November , page 4 ). What ’ s more , the report adds , governments have so far paid too little attention to gambling-related harms – and are doing far too little to prevent them . When the review of the 2005 Gambling Act was announced it was two and a half years before the gambling white paper finally saw the light of day , and even then it contained almost nothing about advertising or marketing ( DDN , May 2023 , page 5 ) – despite the fact that whenever the public is surveyed on the subject , most people are in favour of tighter regulations .
VESTED INTERESTS ‘ We know there are a lot of vested interests and a lot of
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lobbying in this space ,’ says lead author the Lancet Public Health commission report , Professor Heather Wardle of the University of Glasgow . ‘ And it ’ s not just the gambling corporations , it ’ s also the broadcast media . So it ’ s a hotly contested space , but what ’ s really interesting is how other countries ’ governments are taking the steps and saying , “ You know what ? We are going to ban this .”’
A recent report commissioned by GambleAware found that the UK had far more lenient rules than comparable countries like the Netherlands , Germany , Italy or Spain ( www . drinkanddrugsnews . com / uk-has-europes-most-lenientregulation-on-gambling-ads /), many of which are taking action to crack down on marketing . And they ’ re doing so on a ‘ similar , or even lesser , evidence base for their particular countries ,’ Wardle points out . ‘ Whereas our government is taking the line that there ’ s no evidence to say that advertising causes harm , although they do
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accept that advertising causes increased consumption . But of course we know that increased consumption is associated with the increased risk of harms .’
It was a Labour government that brought in the 2005 act , which controversially helped to liberalise the advertising and marketing regulations , but could the current government be the one that finally takes decisive action to address gamblingrelated harms ?
‘ It ’ s unclear as yet ,’ she says . ‘ There were some promising signs when they actually mentioned gambling reform in their manifesto under public health commitments – the first time it had actually been put under a public health or health improvement banner . But there were perhaps some more concerning signs when they then said , “ We ’ re going work with the industry to make sure these reforms are implemented in a responsible way ,” which very much felt like a continuation of the status quo . Part of their policy commitment is a focus
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on prevention so if that ’ s then threaded through into gambling policy it could be very positive . But it ’ s a big if . We ’ re sitting tight and waiting to see what happens .’
SURVEILLANCE ECONOMY Most people thinking about gambling are likely to picture a betting shop or a casino – not a highly sophisticated digital ecosystem with online products that are ‘ designed to be rapid and intensive ’, as the commission says . ‘ Like any online commodity , this is driven by data and insight ,’ she says . ‘ It ’ s about how people can use and surveil the information that you as a consumer willingly give to these companies , because that ’ s the quid pro quo of them providing you with the products . So once you start situating this more within the kind of surveillance economy framework , you start thinking about it in a different way .’
Gambling is also becoming increasingly normalised at an early age , with ‘ loot boxes ’ in
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