APG Publishes Inquiry Report on Future Regulation of Gambling in Northern Ireland
The NI Assembly All Party Group (APG) on Reducing Harm Related to Gambling has today published an inquiry report outlining a range of recommendations to modernise Northern Ireland’s gambling laws.
The inquiry heard that the combination of an unregulated online industry, a lack of healthcare support and persistent social stigma around gambling addiction is leading to serious harm within communities and in some cases avoidable loss of life.
During the seven month inquiry, the APG heard from a wide range of witnesses from across the UK and Ireland as well as experts from as far away as Australia and New Zealand. The inquiry received contributions from local gambling industry as well as local individuals and families impacted by gambling addiction and gambling related suicide.
The inquiry report outlines 38 recommendations to protect people here from gambling harm. Underpinning all of these is the principle that gambling harm should be treated by the NI Executive as a public health issue.
Recommendations include a single sign-on mechanism for access to any form of gambling so that affordability checks can be properly applied, and a £100 per person per month ‘soft cap’ on gambling spending. The average gambler would be unaffected by these measures, which are designed to help prevent individuals get sucked into a cycle of addiction-driven spending.
Addressing the lack of gambling addiction services here, the report calls for the HSC to create and provide a specialised, expert-led gambling harm service. It also calls for schools to include material teaching them about the dangers of gambling and how addiction can develop, alongside broader public awareness campaigns.
Welcoming the report, APG Chair, Robbie Butler MLA said:
“I’m thrilled to see the results of our All Party Group’s first inquiry published today in this report. This was a major piece of work, but the dedication shown by our members throughout the process is a testament to their understanding of how serious the issue of gambling related harm here is.
“The APG is not abolitionist about gambling – we recognise there is a place for gambling in society, if properly regulated. However, our inquiry has shown that the current regulation is wholly inadequate for the digital age.
“Northern Ireland has the highest incidence of problem gambling in these islands. Despite this, we have no gambling regulator, no Health and Social Care treatment services for gambling related harm and no mandatory education programmes in our schools on the dangers of gambling.
“All told, our report shows that Northern Ireland faces major challenges in terms of gambling related harm, but also has a real opportunity to build a world-leading regulatory system. I hope that our recommendations are listened to and acted upon.”
APG Vice-Chair Philip McGuigan MLA said:
“We are at an early stage in the process of modernising our gambling laws. Significant change needs to come quickly, or an already challenging picture here could become even worse.
“Our report recommends adopting a public-health approach to reducing gambling related harm. This would see stringent regulation of gambling products combined with effective treatment models for those living with gambling addiction and programmes to educate people – especially our children – about the dangers of gambling.
“The 38 recommendations we made include measures such as the effective regulation of online gambling, free rollout of blocking software for under-18s, full health impact assessments of any new gambling regulations and a single sign-on mechanism for use across all gambling operators. If implemented, these recommendations could give us a world-class system for addressing gambling related harm.”
The full report can be accessed by clicking here.