Summary
- The committee will receive input from various experts on the harms related to gambling.
- Lawmakers are actively gathering feedback to enhance safeguards.
- The committee will evaluate ways to enhance the public health response.
- Professor Sam Chamberlain, a Psychiatry Professor at the University of Southampton, also serves as the Director of the Southern Gambling Treatment Clinic.
- Professor Heather Wardle, Co-Chair of the Lancet Public Health Commission on Gambling and a Professor of Gambling Research and Policy at the University of Glasgow
- Lucy Hubber, the Director of Public Health for Nottingham and a member of the Association of Directors of Public Health
- Professor Henrietta Bowden-Jones OBE, National Clinical Advisor on Gambling Harms
- Andrew Vereker, Deputy Director for Tobacco, Alcohol, and Gambling at the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities
- Tim Miller, Executive Director of Research and Policy at the Gambling Commission
The Health and Social Care Select Committee is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, April 2, at 9:30 a.m. to receive testimony from experts on gambling-related harm and addiction.
Lawmakers to hear more evidence on gambling-related harm
The committee will evaluate the evidence on the impacts of gambling-related harm on individuals and explore strategies for a more effective public health response. Lawmakers will take this opportunity to learn from prominent experts in the field and work towards developing a framework to enhance consumer protections industry-wide. This session occurs as gambling in England has reportedly involved around 25 million people in 2023. Lawmakers will particularly examine the role of public health teams within local authority services in mitigating gambling-related harm. They will also question experts about whether the existing safeguards sufficiently protect vulnerable populations, including children. Witnesses at the Wednesday sessions will include individual researchers as well as representatives from regulatory and health sectors. The UK has made strides toward an industry that better caters to its most vulnerable consumers. A key initiative is the introduction of a statutory levy for gambling operators starting this month. This levy is expected to generate funds for independent research, treatment options, and activities aimed at reducing gambling-related harm and enhancing well-being. Previously, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended that general practitioners ask patients about their gambling habits during routine inquiries about smoking and drinking.
