WHO calls for a ban on gambling ads as financial and health toll mounts

The World Health Organization (WHO) has published a new report on the toll that gambling is taking on the world’s economy and on the world’s health, with the watchdog examining several key trends.

For starters, the WHO acknowledged that there are issues with tracking the actual rate of the world’s adult population that is suffering from a gambling disorder, which is a recognized medical condition.

Outlining how problem gambling is hurting the global populace

The WHO puts this number at 1.2% of adults worldwide, which could be costing the world both economically and in terms of health. People suffering from a gambling disorder could be generating as much as 60% of all revenues companies bring in.

According to industry analysts cited by the WHO, the gambling industry worldwide is on track to hit $700bn by 2028. The WHO also acknowledges that gambling harms could spill over to relationships, family, cause financial distress, ostracization, and drive people to crime, the neglect of their children, and even contribute to the erosion of civil institutions owing to corruption.

The WHO also believes the percentage of people who experience a higher level of harm is much higher, with 5.5% of women globally and 11.9% of men experiencing some level of harm. People with a gambling disorder are also 15 times more likely to die by suicide, the WHO’s excerpt pointed out.

The WHO also outlines numerous options to try and mitigate the damage problem gambling is causing, including the introduction of universal, population-wide public health approaches that could successfully tackle the issue.

Global health watchdog outlines how problem gambling can be tackled

One of the proposed measures that comes up first is the ending of gambling advertising and promotion and severing the ties between sports and cultural activities and the industry. The WHO also proposed that any efforts designed to tackle problem gambling also focus on reducing stigma and shame experienced by those who suffer from gambling-related harm.

Much of this will depend on effective regulation of gambling providers, the health body argues, and not least – including well-resources enforcement activities.

Counter-messaging that conveys warning about the harms associated with gambling should also be elevated. The latest recommendations and outlining of the problem by the WHO is not the only major instance of a report trying to emphasize the urgency of a global effort in tackling problem gambling and gambling-related harm.

Previously, The Lancet Public Health Commission reached similar conclusions, with some of the data already cited by the WHO’s own summation of the issue.

Image credit: Flickr (@United States Mission Geneva)