Zona de Azar UK – Renewed Gambling Regulations is in the UK Labour Party Agenda
UK.- 24th September 2018 www.zonadeazar.com “Current gambling regulation is not up to the job of protecting addicts and those at risk of addiction,” Tom Watson said of the proposals.
The party aims to introduce a new Gambling Act, which it said would emphasise public health and harm prevention, after admitting that the current act, introduced by the last Labour government in 2007, is no longer fit for purpose.
The UK’s Labour Party has set out a series of planned changes to the regulation of gambling and treatment of addiction that it plans to introduce should it come into power.
The proposals have been formed following a year-long investigation into the UK National Health Service’s methods of treating gambling addiction. This was overseen by the party’s deputy leader and Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Tom Watson and Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth.
The party aims to introduce a new Gambling Act, which it said would emphasise public health and harm prevention, after admitting that the current act, introduced by the last Labour government in 2007, is no longer fit for purpose.
The review highlighted a lack of dedicated treatment services for gambling addiction, which Labour plans to address with the development of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines for sufferers. This priority action will be supported by a national training programme for Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IATP) practitioners and other local addiction services.
A number of prevention measures will be introduced in tandem with the overhaul of problem gambling treatment. Watson and Ashworth’s report points to anecdotal evidence suggesting children are induced to gamble by seeing gambling branding and ads, and proposes a ‘whistle to whistle’ ban on gambling advertising around live sport. This would be see gambling ads restricted for a defined period before and after a match, as well as during the fixture.
Social casino games also fall into Labour’s sights, with “online gambling-style games” to be limited to those aged 18 or over. The UK authorities would be given additional powers to ensure such apps are removed from social media platforms if the platform provider does not use appropriate age verification tools.
Finally, the party will give councils additional powers to prevent clustering of betting shops on high streets. Planned openings will also be subject to additional scrutiny in the form of a series of impact assessments. Labour will also make having two staff in every shop a mandatory condition of securing a licence for each venue.
“Current gambling regulation is not up to the job of protecting addicts and those at risk of addiction,” Watson said of the proposals. “Treatment is patchy across the country and too often patients are misdiagnosed and not treated by specialists who can spot the signs of gambling addiction.
Editó: @MaiaDigital www.zonadeazar.com
