GambleAware data reveals strong support for financial risk checks

These are interesting times for the gambling industry in the United Kingdom with consumers and lawmakers both addressing the issue head-on. Amid a flurry of proposed changes that range from setting tighter betting limits to applying stiffer penalties to offending operators, new data by GambleAware now shows that consumers are increasingly in favor of financial risk checks and, in fact, find them necessary.

The data, collected by Ipsos, a polling agency, on behalf of the gambling harms prevention and treatment commissioner, indicates that the public is cozying up to the idea of ensuring that financial risk checks are actually put in place. Some 57% of adults have responded in the affirmative, with 76% of those who had a friend or a family member who had suffered from gambling harm, approving of the matter.

Consumers are confident about two things. First, it would make gambling companies more accountable, as tight financial penalties have so far fallen short of the mark. Secondly, it would add ballast to the effort of reducing the number of people who face financial harm as a result of their direct involvement with the activity.

This evidence comes at an important time for the industry, as financial checks are indeed one of the contentious bones in the upcoming re-regulation of the gambling industry in the United Kingdom. The data also comes following a similar release by the UK Gambling Commission, in which the regulator compared gambling behavior in participation between 2022 and 2023.

Meanwhile, some 50,000 people reached out to the National Gambling Support Network in 2023 alone, according to data shared by GamCare, seeking treatment. Commenting on the latest results, GambleAware CEO Zoë Osmond said that there has been a growing demand for support and treatment services, and the onus is on the government to ensure that it does not miss opportunities when it comes to offering solutions to what the executive described as a growing public health concern.

"It's imperative that proactive measures are taken to address the root causes of gambling harm, including comprehensive education programs and awareness-raising campaigns, stronger regulations to protect vulnerable populations, and sufficient funding for treatment and support services," Osmond said, and urged the government to focus on its efforts where it mattered the most – on prevention and protecting consumers against unaffordable losses that have serious implication on their mental, financial, and physical well-being.

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