Gambling harm highlighted as World Cup kicks off
We are exposed to gambling all year round but during events like the World Cup, industry advertising is increased, so called ‘safer gambling’ is promoted and seemingly ‘harmless’ sweepstakes are actively encouraged in all sectors of the community. The fact that children and young people are so readily exposed is creating a dangerous cycle where society is increasingly engaging with pursuits that can have very real and harmful consequences.
Greg Fell
Vice President, ADPH
Every year, over 400 lives are lost to gambling in England alone, representing a significant percentage of suicides, with many more at risk of serious harm.
As people across the UK prepare to watch England and Wales’ opening matches in this year’s FIFA World Cup, the Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH) are urging people to use the event as a prompt to talk about gambling.
The gambling industry, which spends around £500 million every year on marketing, has become a dominating force in the world of sport and there is widespread concern that events like the World Cup, which help to normalise gambling, will cause a spike in the numbers of people experiencing gambling related harm.
Greg Fell, ADPH’s Vice-President, said:
“We are exposed to gambling all year round but during events like the World Cup, industry advertising is increased, so called ‘safer gambling’ is promoted and seemingly ‘harmless’ sweepstakes are actively encouraged in all sectors of the community.
“The fact that children and young people are so readily exposed is creating a dangerous cycle where society is increasingly engaging with pursuits that can have very real and harmful consequences.”
This year, as people struggle with the cost of living crisis, that risk is exacerbated and Directors of Public Health are working with a range of organisations at a local level to encourage people to talk about gambling with friends and family and not to be scared to seek help.
Earlier this year, ADPH made a series of recommendations to the Government in a letter co-authored by the Faculty of Public Health designed to protect people from being exploited by the gambling industry.
“The gambling industry, along with policy and decision makers have by far the biggest role in exposing the public to these harmful products and services. Like with tobacco, it is vital that the industry is regulated properly to minimise – and ultimately put a stop to – the significant proportion of suicides, and large numbers of people living with mental health problems, that are currently caused by gambling,”
explained Fell. Among the recommendations were:
- a commitment to sustainable funding of public health measures not based on industry-funded research to address gambling harms.
- tighter regulation of marketing and promotion within the gambling industry.
- the formation of an alliance of trusted partners to help inform evidence-based policy with public health at its core.