By many accounts, and a lot of studies, the rate of gambling addiction compared to responsible gambling is miniscule – some analysis has shown that less than 8% of gamblers could be considered “problem gamblers.” However, this doesn’t prevent the anti-gambling community in the U.K. from desperately trying to turn the industry upside down. The latest measures include an attempt to implement a complete ban on any type of gambling advertising, and some Members of Parliament (MP) are jumping on the bandwagon.
Currently, according to a report by The Guardian, at least 50 MPs have come together to form an anti-gambling group that has been dubbed the All Party Parliamentary Group for Gambling Related Harm (GRH APPG). The group is going to introduce a number of changes to U.K. gambling laws today, including the blanket ban on advertising. If approved, no online or TV ads would be allowed by gaming operators in the country.
By most accounts, there are greater percentages of people addicted to alcohol or even sugary drinks than to gambling, yet these segments aren’t finding nearly the level of contempt as is the gambling segment. The narrowminded approach of lawmakers is baffling, given that they will use arguments to single out the gambling industry that are applicable to other commercial activity that consistently get free passes. Carolyn Harris, who chairs the GRH APPG, explains, “This multi-million pound [sic] industry has destroyed people’s lives. They resist change at every turn and claim to be reforming themselves but put forward limited changes.”
She adds, apparently somewhat surprised that a business could operate for the purpose of generating revenue, “Their primary motive is profit. During the Covid [sic] pandemic they said they would end TV and radio advertising but just ended up replacing ads with ads – that none of us want to see. They have shown time and again that they will not effectively self-regulate. We cannot ignore this any longer. Urgent change is needed to stop this industry riding roughshod over people’s lives.”