Executive must do more to curb betting industry – CARE for NI

The Northern Ireland Executive must introduce tougher curbs on the betting industry given increased levels of problem gambling in NI, CARE for NI has said.

The Department for Communities has released a gambling prevalence survey for the first time in nine years, which suggests ‘problem gambling’ in Northern Ireland has significantly increased.

Over the last decade the level of problem gambling has increased from 2.3% to 3%. Today, almost 58,000 people find themselves in gambling harm – 18,000 more than in 2016.

Tim Cairns, Senior Policy Officer at the social policy charity CARE for NI, said the trend shows the need for tougher regulation, with NI’s approach more permissive than in the wider UK.

Mr Cairns commented:

“Northern Ireland is an unregulated gambling market. There is no regulatory body to ensure that the rules are kept and that gambling companies are held to account for the harm they cause. Furthermore, in the rest of the UK a levy is being applied to gambling companies’ profits. This will go to the NHS to ensure people in gambling harm are treated.

“The Executive has the power to launch a levy for land-based gambling in Northern Ireland. Yet it has failed to commence this statutory power, denying much needed funding for gambling support. If they don’t introduce this policy, NI Ministers need to at least set out how they will ensure that Northern Ireland gets its share of any online levy from Westminster. People in gambling harm in NI need to see their government fighting for them.”

He added:

“Given the prevalence of gambling harm in NI, it is concerning that some members of the Assembly are proposing further liberalisation of gambling laws. While society lotteries such as the People’s Postcode Lottery are at the lower end of the scale in causing harm, politicians in Northern Ireland are sending out a signal that the gambling industry takes precedence over those who are harmed by its products.

“We need to get proper regulation in place before any other gambling products are allowed to be sold to the people of Northern Ireland. Politicians need to act and decide whose side they are on. Either they support people grappling with addiction who can see no way out of the predicament they are in, or an industry that makes £16 billion a year, often extracted from the most vulnerable in our society. The moral choice should be obvious.”

ENDS

Notes for Editors

Christian Action Research and Education (CARE) is a social policy charity, bringing Christian insight to the policies and laws that affect our lives.

Contact us: press@care.org.uk