NHS boss: Live sport restart must not let bookies target addicts
GAMBLING firms must not use the restarting of the football season as an excuse to ‘open the floodgates of addiction’, an NHS boss has warned.
Claire Murdoch, the mental health director at NHS England, is concerned that the industry will launch ‘aggressive’ advertising campaigns to claw back the millions of pounds lost during lockdown.
She is worried that the restarting of the Premier League today followed by the Championship on Saturday will lead to thousands of people picking up their old gambling habits or becoming hooked for the first time. Mrs Murdoch believes the largest firms will launch mass advertising campaigns on social media.
These are likely to include offers of £30 to new subscribers or ‘bet £10, get £10’ deals – and many are already being touted for horse racing, which restarted earlier this month.
But there are concerns these campaigns will be more aggressive as firms have seen their revenues slashed since March due to the cessation of live sports.
Mrs Murdoch, who has been a registered mental health nurse for 34 years, said: ‘The return of football will be a moment of excitement for millions but it must not be an excuse for gambling firms to open the floodgates of addiction.
‘With my colleagues having spent this year focused on protecting people from a once-in-ageneration global pandemic, the last thing NHS staff and patients need is for avoidable harm to be caused by reckless advertising from the gambling industry.’
The NHS estimates that 400,000 patients in England have an addiction to gambling with a further two million at risk due to their betting habits.
Officials are particularly concerned about the growing number of youngsters becoming hooked and last June the NHS opened its first ever specialist clinic for gambling youngsters in west London.
The Daily Mail’s Stop the Gambling Predators campaign continues to call for greater protection for addicts.
There are no figures on how much money the industry has lost during the lockdown but Paddy Power Betfair, one of the UK’s largest, said its revenue had fallen by 54 per cent between April 1 and May 17.
While Mrs Murdoch did not single out which firms she was most concerned about, the largest include Ladbrokes, Betway, Bet365 and William Hill.
Yesterday Labour MP Carolyn Harris, chairman of the all-party parliamentary group for gambling harm, said the industry was ‘rotten to the core.’
‘I’m terrified how many young people have a problem with gambling because of advertising in sport,’ she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
She was speaking out following a report by 50 MPs which calls for an outright ban on gambling adverts. Its proposals covered adverts on social media, TV and in stadiums.
Michael Dugher, chief executive of the Betting and Gaming Council, said Mrs Murdoch should speak to them about her concerns ‘rather than trying to grab alarmist headlines’.
He added: ‘She might agree with the Secretary of State for Health who said this week that he was “delighted the BGC is taking these steps to support problem gamblers” when we announced £ 100million for research and treatment.’
Sports minister Nigel Huddleston has urged firms to ensure punters are ‘protected from the risk of gambling-related harm’ as matches resume.