Big rise in number of problem gamblers seeking help during lockdown
Gambling
There’s been a surge in the number of problem gamblers across the country during the coronavirus lockdown, according to a front line charity.
The Gordon Moody Association, which runs residential treatment programmes for people with serious gambling addictions said the number of interactions with people suffering from gambling related harms had risen from 30 a month to 1,000 a month, during April to June.
Chief Executive of the charity, Matthew Hickey said:
“We did feel that we were likely to experience a major storm because of the coronavirus crisis, and now we think that the reality is that these figures may yet be the first signs of the storm,” he said. “Now that we’re moving into the second quarter of 2020, we’re definitely seeing an upsurge in numbers.”
Over the lockdown, data suggests that overall gambling rates have fallen, but at the same time the activity among regular customers increased and online casino revenues grew.
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Big rise in number of problem gamblers seeking help during lockdown