SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Professor Sian Griffiths (CBE) has called on the Labour Government to ensure that a robust national strategy protects Britain from gambling harms.
Appointed as the new Chair of Trustees of GambleAware, Griffiths, a former Faculty President of Public Health England (PHE), is recognised as a distinguished public policy expert in the management and administration of healthcare networks.
Writing in the Commons news source PoliticsHome, Griffiths stated that the General Election tainted by the gambling scandal serves as a “stark reminder of how normalised gambling has become in our society”.
“In Britain, up to 4.8 million people experience harm from their own or someone else’s gambling – but how did we get here?”
As such the Labour government must rectify the Gambling Act of 2005, implemented during its last tenure in office to liberalise gambling in British society and which has been subsequently compounded by further governments.
A comprehensive national strategy to minimise gambling harms is needed, as risks carry a significant societal burden that cannot be ignored.
Taking on the role of Chair of GambleAware, Griffiths highlighted key areas of concern related to problem gambling risks impacting women, marginalised communities, ethnic minorities, and young adults.
As highlighted by GambleAware, “one in seven 18 to 24-year-olds is estimated to be affected” with research detailing that “deprived and ethnic minority communities, where individuals who gamble are twice as likely to experience harm.”
Griffiths expressed growing concerns of risk rates increasing amongst women, as GambleAware “estimates that up to half a million women in Great Britain may be experiencing problem gambling harms.”
Griffiths warned: “The incoming Labour government now has the opportunity to course-correct the situation and deliver regulation that is fit for today’s world.”
