GambleAware publishes commissioning intentions for NGTS

GambleAware, the defining charity in Great Britain that advocates for safer and responsible gambling, has published its future commissioning intentions for the National Gambling Treatment Service. These intentions better capture the evolving nature of the gambling industry and how gambling harms have been studied and understood over the past years.

Because of this new fact-based evidence, GambleAware has outlined updated intentions that better reflect the current needs of people at-risk or already experiencing gambling-related harm. The NGTS is set up as a third-party provider of free and confidential treatment to people who are struggling with their gambling habits and are at significant risk of engaging in harmful practices.

GambleAware has played a key role in understanding how problem gambling works and what particular areas of this phenomenon need addressing, and how. In June, the charity posted a worrying study that in Great Britain, the biggest spenders on gambling come from the poorest areas of the country.

These intentions are also the result of a careful in-depth engagement with gambling harm treatment providers, the charity explained in its official press release. Everything about responsible gambling and treatment today is done based on extensive research and indeed, gambling addiction is recognized as a serious medical condition.

The NGTS and its initiatives work in partnership with local authorities and branches of the National Health Service. GambleAware also plays a key role in the overall process with the charity seeking to make tangible changes to the way the National Gambling Treatment Service operates. The charity seeks to improve a range of matters when it comes to applying responsible gambling practices.

This will pertain to the diversity and effectiveness of the measures, but also to how accessible they are. GambleAware will also look into the structure of treatment options and best practices to ensure that consumers are protected, and shortcomings are addressed.

Commenting on this development, GambleAware CCO Anna Hargrave said that the charity was happy to reveal the new commissioning plans which are inspired by the success of the current prevention, treatment program, and empirical evidence.

Hargrave added that it was doubly important to improve the work of the NGTS given the rapid increase in costs of living and the fact that more people are, as a result, at risk of gambling harm. The new initiative makes it possible to respond to the evolving environment and focus on vulnerable communities and groups, she explained.

Hargrave commended the extensive efforts that have gone into ensuring that GambleAware uses and leverages its pool of expertise and the knowledge garnered into the issue so far to continue improving the gambling environment in the United Kingdom for everyone and ensure that what the organization does has a lasting positive impact on people’s lives.

In the meantime, GambleAware has continued to address other issues that it considers controversial or necessary to tackle, such as loot boxes and whether they need to be re-regulated as part of the upcoming b under Prime Minister Liz Truss and Secretary of State for the DCMS Nadine Dorries.

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