“I’m currently losing my shirt on Cheltenham,” says Steve. And he’s not the only one. With the races taking place this week, how can Hackney Council tackle gambling addiction?
Steve (not his real name) has been an avid gambler for years, and is currently betting on the Cheltenham races from his home in Hackney. The races are running again this week after a two year hiatus, and with them comes a surge in betting – with bookmakers estimating that £500 million worth of bets will be placed over the festival, the majority online.
“I don’t go to any betting shops in Hackney as a lot of shops seem kind of seedy these days,” Steve said, “I almost exclusively bet online now.”
As one of London’s lowest income boroughs, Hackney can suffer from higher than average addiction rates. “It is important to be mindful of the fact Hackney continues to be one of the most deprived local authority areas in the country, with a young population and a comparatively high prevalence of mental health issues within the population,” the council said in a statement on their website about the gambling industry.
Hackney Council has a hardline approach on betting, banning casinos from the area since November 2015 and supporting national campaigns to remove Fixed Odd Betting Terminal (FOBT) gambling machines from shops. However, a growth in online betting has limited the council’s ability to control addiction issues in the area.
Gambling addiction has been a growing problem since the Covid lockdowns, as many people turned to online betting as a form of entertainment. According to a University of Bristol study, regular gamblers were found to be more than 6 times more likely to gamble online compared with before the pandemic.
Thirty-nine-percent of regular gamblers (those who bet more than once a week) were also gambling more often during the pandemic than before. Of these, 30 percent reported concerns they were developing a gambling addiction, and 34 per cent were concerned they were spending more money than they could afford on online betting, according to a government report released last year.
What can Hackney council do to tackle gambling addiction?
Before Hackney Council’s 2015 clampdown on the industry, the borough was found to be one of the top 20 worst areas in the UK for gambling, with a high concentration of betting shops, and a growing gambling addiction problem as a result.
Hackney Council responded to this with a licensing crackdown. In their most recent statement of gambling principles from 2019, the council demonstrated that it was careful with issuing licences, making sure that they are not granted to shops that are nearby to places where children or vulnerable people are likely to congregate – including schools and addiction centres.
With the government still issuing controls on the gambling industry, such as additional taxation or charges on gambling companies, the growth in online betting means that the council’s control over addiction issues is limited to the physical shops.
Online gambling is overtaking the shops
The growth in online betting throws Hackney Council’s work to reduce gambling issues into jeopardy.
“I have only ever gambled online because it’s easier, I’ve never had the need to go into [a betting shop],” said Paul (not his real name), another resident.
“Most of the time, it’s after a few drinks that I’ll have a punt. It’s just right there on your phone.”
This week, senior NHS clinicians called for a new levy on the gambling industry in response to the growth in online gambling.
Professor Henrietta Bowden-Jones, who works as the director of the National Problem Gambling Clinic, and Dr Matt Gaskell, clinical lead for the NHS Northern Gambling service are leading calls for an independent health board to oversee the spending of a new gambling levy. Previously, the government has trusted the industry to regulate gambling services voluntarily, though the legal power to impose additional tax on the industry has been in place since 2005.
In a paper for think tank Social Market Foundation (SMF), the clinicians wrote that the new tax could see “tens of millions” of pounds put toward gambling addiction services. They hope that the funds will help finance both prevention and treatment programmes for gambling addiction after its growth during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The council is planning its next steps
Hackney Council’s licensing guidance is reviewed every three years, so a new statement will be published in 2023. The UK government has also stated that they are to publish a white paper on gambling in 2022, investigating a potential crackdown on both advertising and marketing from the gambling industry.
Though Hackney Council’s control over the online betting industry is limited, there are still members of the public heading to betting shops, and the increasing restrictions placed on them by the council will continue to cause them issues.
“There aren’t that many gambling shops around here anymore,” said Steve, “in fact, I’ve noticed a few sites closing down lately.”
It’s yet to be seen how the surge in online gambling will affect Hackney’s addiction problem, or whether the government will respond to the calls for the new levy. Perhaps better communication and further cooperation between local and national government will bring about real change to the gambling addiction problem. But until that time, as online gambling continues to grow, the council’s power to curb the borough’s addiction from their residents continues to shrink.
If you are struggling with addiction, you can find help and advice on the NHS website, HelpGuide and gamcare.
