It is an issue that continues to rear its head, and an area where it seems that far more could be done to support vulnerable consumers. A BBC News article this week explores the extent to which gambling is still big business in the UK. According to the industry regulator, the Gambling Commission, around £14.5bn was spent in Great Britain on gambling between October 2017 and September 2018.
Whilst most people aim to gamble safely, the Royal College of Psychiatrists said that gambling is a problem for about nine people in every 1,000, equalling about 1% of the population. The founder of the NHS National Gambling Clinic, Henrietta Bowden-Jones, says that problem gambling can lead people into debt, and describes gambling disorder as “a total loss of control” of how much you spend on gambling, with GamCare, who attended the recent launch of VRS, saying that they had seen an increase in enquiries, taking just under 30,000 calls in the 2017-18 financial year.
The VRS want to enable those people to take back control, should they choose to do so, through their self-registration system, and to support the gambling industry to act in a socially responsible way towards their customers. It would allow people to feel that they are having trouble controlling their gambling to ask for greater protections, and potentially to stop them from opening and using duplicate accounts.
In a recent survey conducted by ComRes on behalf of the VRS in September, the gambling industry was the second most mentioned industry by the public, out of a list of business types, when asked which business types need to do more to identify vulnerable customers, with 57% of respondents mentioning them. It is clearly therefore, an area where the public believe more action needs to be taken, and are wanting to see some urgent progress from industry leaders.
There needs to be a wider recognition within the industry that there are vulnerable individuals who may not be able to make an informed decision about gambling, and need to be treated accordingly in any communication with them. The VRS stands ready to work with more members of the gambling industry. The VRS service is provided free to those that register and the VRS service is a not for profit organistion. If you think that this would be beneficial for your business, you can learn more about the VRS and how to register here.
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