UK: Tax gambling firms to fund addiction treatment, says NHS director

The Guardian reports..

Intervention comes amid review of laws governing betting sector and plans for new gambling clinics as addiction cases spike

Gambling firms have profited during the pandemic but are leaving the NHS to “pick up the pieces” of addiction and should be hit with a compulsory levy to fund treatment, the head of mental health in England has said.

Claire Murdoch – national mental health director for NHS England – denounced the voluntary system that lets the industry dictate how much it contributes to helping addicts.

In an intervention that comes amid a government review of laws governing the £11bn-a-year sector, Murdoch said 750 people have been referred to specialist clinics for treatment of serious addiction since April 2020. The health service is planning to open more gambling clinics across the country because it believes it is currently only reaching “the tip of the iceberg.”

Successive lockdowns have triggered a surge in spending on high-octane online casino games and slot machines, fuelling big increases in revenue at companies such as Paddy Power owner Flutter and Ladbrokes Coral owner Entain. Denise Coates, chief executive of online-only Bet365, paid herself £421m for 2020 last week, taking her rewards over the past four years above £1bn.

But Murdoch, who has previously criticised betting and gaming firms for luring punters in with incentives such as “VIP” hospitality and “free” bets, said the industry’s contributions to treatment were still just a “drop in the ocean”.

“After seeing the destruction the gambling industry has caused to young people in this country, it is clear that firms are focused on profit at the expense of people’s health, while the NHS is increasingly left to pick up the pieces,” she said.

Read the full article at  https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/apr/07/tax-gambling-firms-to-fund-addiction-treatment-says-nhs-director