Football and betting go hand in hand. Events like the World Cup are a boon for the gambling industry, giving an opportunity to increase their customer numbers.
Once people start betting, many continue prompted (or nagged, as a European Union report called it) by persistent marketing and advertising from gambling companies. And this has an impact, with our research showing that around a third of people who gamble place bets when they were otherwise not going to because of marketing.
It’s no wonder that expenditure on gambling advertising continues to increase. The most recently available data shows that the gambling industry spent £91.2 million on paid-for advertising between January 2021 and March 2021.
Yet with gambling comes the risk of harms. Whilst anyone can be vulnerable to harms, those who are most socially and economically deprived are more likely to be affected.
Read more: Investigation: Revenue gap looms as campaigners seek gambling ad ban
In Scotland, those living in the most deprived areas are over five times more likely to experience gambling harms than those living in the least deprived. The fiscal cost of these harms is estimated to be in excess of £1 billion. Every year, gamblers lose about £14bn to the industry.
Gambling harms are broader and affect more people than previously acknowledged. They are also unevenly distributed across society, co-occurring with other social and health inequalities, including deprivation, poor mental health and unhealthy alcohol consumption.
As the gambling industry continues to grow, it’s likely that gambling harms will also increase, and could be exacerbated by the cost of living crisis.
In addition to this, we should question how the gambling industry generates its profits. A growing evidence base suggests it has an unhealthy reliance on those harmed for a substantial portion of its profits.
Research has shown that 40% of spending on online sports betting was generated by the 15% of those experiencing moderate risk or problem gambling. A large-scale study of bank transactions found that 1% of gamblers spend 58% of their income on betting and suffer a range of financial, health and personal problems.
In theory, these issues are being addressed in the review of the Gambling Act 2005, which regulates gambling. There is great potential to bring about reform and protection for people who gamble. However, the resulting white paper has been subject to numerous delays, many connected to personnel changes in government. Publication is now predicted for early this year.
What happens in Westminster impacts hugely on Scotland. Gambling is a reserved issue and thus the capacity for the Scottish Government to act in many important areas, such as industry regulation, is limited.
Gambling is and should be considered a public health issue and Scotland should have powers to take action to protect its populace from harms. It currently does not, and the Gambling Act Review is unlikely to change this.
However, just because gambling is a reserved issue doesn’t mean that local governments in Scotland have no powers.
Through Licensing Boards, all local authorities have powers to inspect gambling premises to ensure they are not breaching regulations and to conduct test purchasing to prevent access by under 18s. These are important tools…yet latest statistics show that no such inspections were conducted in Scotland in 2020/21, building on patterns established prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In Scotland, as elsewhere, it seems local authorities have not used what little powers they have.
The tide might be turning. In December 2022, the Scottish Parliament published a new report called A Public Health Approach to Gambling Harms which highlighted the deep inequity in provision for treatment compared with England.
Unlike England, where there are now several NHS-funded gambling treatment clinics, Scotland has none. Significantly, gambling harms were referenced in Scotland’s Suicide Prevention Action Plan 2022-2025, highlighting, as our research shows, a strong association between gambling and suicidality and the need to do something about it. Action begins with recognition and the inclusion of gambling within the Suicide Prevention Plan is an important first step.
These baby steps could be important building blocks in developing a stronger Scottish response to tackle gambling harms.
Gambling being a reserved issue doesn’t mean that we should just sit and await our cue from Westminster to act further. There are excellent examples of local action being taken in other places.
For example, Bristol City Council has banned all advertising for gambling, junk food and alcohol on council-owned sites, prohibiting these from being displayed on bus shelters, billboards, and digital screens it owns.
Read more: Kevin McKenna: Football must stop the betting firms preying on fans
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority has developed the Odds Are: They Win campaign, with hard-hitting public health messages to prevent and reduce gambling related harms in local communities. Even using what licensing powers local authorities already have can have an impact, by adding a wealth of additional protection conditions to licences (such as stopping 24-hour opening), fully scrutinising applications and undertaking inspections.
These examples show how local gambling policies can be developed if there is enough energy and will to do something about it. Whilst Westminster continues to fight amongst itself, Scotland has the opportunity to display leadership in this area and fight for the health of its people.
The gambling industry in its current form is putting already vulnerable people at further risk of harm, and reinforcing existing inequalities, against the backdrop of one of the worst social crises of modern times.
We must work together to act now, not before it is too late for the many who are already affected by gambling, or who are at risk of being so.
Dr Heather Wardle and Professor Gerda Reith are co-directors of the Gambling Research Glasgow at the University of Glasgow. www.grg.scot.
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