London is seeing the highest rates of gambling in the country, and experts gathered in City Hall to address the issue.
With half of London residents estimated to engage in various forms of gambling, a panel of experts in gambling treatment met at the London Assembly on Wednesday.
Marguerite Regan, Head of Gambling at the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, told the Assembly:
“Not all gambling is necessarily problematic, although when it comes to an addiction, it can often lead to other addictions such as drug and alcohol abuse.”
‘Harmful gambling’
The challenges go beyond identifying the health concerns attributed to gambling addiction.
Defining “harmful gambling” remains difficult, according to Dr. Tom Coffery OBE, the health advisor to London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
He said the lack of a clear definition blocks addressing the root of the issue.
Dr. Tom Coffery said the lack of consensus on what constitutes “harmful gambling” has meant the Mayor’s ability to decide which gambling companies to restrict in advertising, has been stalled.
Despite the Mayor’s 2021 manifesto commitment to prohibit gambling advertisements on the Underground, no such ban has happened, two years later.
Gambling adverts are still displayed on the Tube. CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES
In June 2022, a year after the Mayor’s pledge, The Guardian found through an FOI request that during the first quarter of 2022, gambling outlets paid Transport for London (TFL) £1.17m for advertising rights.
‘You don’t get ads for heroin – why for gambling?’
Dame Clare Gerada, founder of Primary Care Gambling Service, expressed her concern about the scale of gambling advertisements on London Underground:
“On my way down today, I took the Tube and saw over 13 adverts promoting gambling. You don’t get ads on the tube to encourage heroin use; why are we doing it with gambling?”
Former gambling addict Harj Gahley, agreed and believes a wider ban on gambling ads needs to be set up.
Mr Gahley’s problems with gambling began in 2009 when he placed his first bet at a bookmakers.
He hid his addiction from everyone close to him, and by 2020 he had lost over £250,000.
He was dealing with severe mental health problems relating to his addiction which led to him attempting to take his own life.
Harj Gahley now works at Red Card helping those with gambling issues CREDIT: HARJ GAHLEY
Mr Gahley views this incident as a turning point which led him to seek professional help.
He now works for Red Card, a charity aiding those facing similar challenges, and advocates for a complete ban on gambling ads on London’s transport network, drawing parallels with Bristol’s successful move in 2021.
Dr. Tom Coffery said efforts to stop gambling at the earliest stage are ongoing through the A New Deal for Young People initiative.
The programme aims to identify characteristics in young people that may lead to problematic gambling and aims to provide mentorship to 100,000 young people in London by early next year.
If you or someone you know is affected by problematic gambling help is available at Be Gamble Aware or call 0808 8020 133.
If you are, or anyone you know is, suffering from thoughts of self-harm, please contact the Samaritans on 116 123, or text SHOUT on 85258.
If you or someone you know is affected by problematic gambling help is available at Be Gamble Aware or call 0808 8020 133.
If you are, or anyone you know is, suffering from thoughts of self-harm please contact the Samaritans on 116 123 or text SHOUT on 85258.
Submitted Article
HeadlineLondon’s Gambling Crisis Prompts Calls for Action at City Hall assembly
Short HeadlineLondon’s Gambling Crisis Prompts Calls for Action
StandfirstLondon's high percentage of gamblers has led to health professionals to attempt to identify the main problems with the addiction and try to highlight important changes to help combat it.
Published Article
HeadlineLondon’s gambling crisis prompts calls for action from Assembly
Short HeadlineLondon’s gambling crisis prompts calls for action
StandfirstHealth professionals highlight problems with addiction and recommend changes to help combat it.
London is seeing the highest rates of gambling in the country, and experts gathered in City Hall to address the issue.
The London Assembly at City Hall on the morning of November 29 gathered experts in gambling treatment.
Half of London residents are estimated to engage in various forms of gambling.
Marguerite Regan, Head of Gambling at the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, stated to the assembly that:
“Not all gambling is necessary problematic, although when it comes an addiction, it can often lead into other addictions such as drug and alcohol abuse”
‘Harmful gambling’
The challenges go beyond identifying the health concerns attributed to gambling addiction. Defining “harmful gambling” remains difficult according to Health advisor to London Mayor, Dr. Tom Coffery OBE and the lack of a clear definition blocks addressing the root of the issue.
Dr. Tom Coffery stated that the lack of consensus on what constitutes ‘harmful gambling’ has meant that the Mayor’s ability to decide on which gambling companies to restrict in advertising, has been stalled.
Despite Mayor Sadiq Khan’s 2021 manifesto commitment to prohibit gambling advertisements on the underground, two years later, no such ban has happened.
In June 2022 a year after the pledge, The Guardian found through an FOI request that during the first quarter of 2022, gambling outlets paid Transport for London (TFL) £1.17 million for advertising rights.
Gambling adverts are still showing on the tube
“You don’t get ads on the tube to encourage heroin use—why are we doing it with gambling?”
Founder of Primary Care Gambling Service, Dame Clare Gerada, expressed her concern about the scale of gambling advertisements on the London Underground:
“On my way down today, I took the tube and saw over thirteen adverts promoting gambling. You don’t get ads on the tube to encourage heroin use—why are we doing it with gambling?”
Former gambling addict Harj Gahley, agreed with Dame Claire’s view and believes a wider ban on gambling ads needs to be set up.
Mr Gahley’s problems with gambling began in 2009 when he placed his first bet at a bookmakers.
Harj Gahley hid his addiction from everyone close to him, and in 2020 he had lost over £250,000. He was dealing with severe mental health problems relating to his addiction which led to him attempting to take his own life.
Harj Gahley now works at Red Card helping those with gambling issues CREDIT: Harj Gahley
Mr Gahley views this incident as a turning point which led him to seek professional help.
In 2023, he now works for Red Card, a charity aiding those facing similar challenges.
Now, Mr Gahley advocates for a complete ban on gambling ads on London transport, drawing parallels with Bristol’s successful move in 2021.
Dr. Tom Coffery makes clear that efforts to address stop gambling at the earliest stage are ongoing through the initiative ‘A New Deal for Young People.’
The program aims to identify characteristics in young people that may lead to problematic gambling and aims to provide mentorship to 100,000 young people in London by early next year.
If you or someone you know is affected by problematic gambling help is available at Be Gamble Aware (https://www.begambleaware.org/self-assessment-tool-entry) Or Call 0808 8020 133
And if you or anyone you know are suffering from thoughts of self harm please call the Samaritan helpline on 116 123 or text SHOUT on 85258 www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help
London is seeing the highest rates of gambling in the country, and experts gathered in City Hall to address the issue.
With half of London residents estimated to engage in various forms of gambling, a panel of experts in gambling treatment met at the London Assembly on Wednesday.
Marguerite Regan, Head of Gambling at the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, told the Assembly:
“Not all gambling is necessarily problematic, although when it comes to an addiction, it can often lead to other addictions such as drug and alcohol abuse.”
‘Harmful gambling’
The challenges go beyond identifying the health concerns attributed to gambling addiction.
Defining “harmful gambling” remains difficult, according to Dr. Tom Coffery OBE, the health advisor to London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
He said the lack of a clear definition blocks addressing the root of the issue.
Dr. Tom Coffery said the lack of consensus on what constitutes “harmful gambling” has meant the Mayor’s ability to decide which gambling companies to restrict in advertising, has been stalled.
Despite the Mayor’s 2021 manifesto commitment to prohibit gambling advertisements on the Underground, no such ban has happened, two years later.
Gambling adverts are still displayed on the Tube. CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES
In June 2022, a year after the Mayor’s pledge, The Guardian found through an FOI request that during the first quarter of 2022, gambling outlets paid Transport for London (TFL) £1.17m for advertising rights.
‘You don’t get ads for heroin – why for gambling?’
Dame Clare Gerada, founder of Primary Care Gambling Service, expressed her concern about the scale of gambling advertisements on London Underground:
“On my way down today, I took the Tube and saw over 13 adverts promoting gambling. You don’t get ads on the tube to encourage heroin use; why are we doing it with gambling?”
Former gambling addict Harj Gahley, agreed and believes a wider ban on gambling ads needs to be set up.
Mr Gahley’s problems with gambling began in 2009 when he placed his first bet at a bookmakers.
He hid his addiction from everyone close to him, and by 2020 he had lost over £250,000.
He was dealing with severe mental health problems relating to his addiction which led to him attempting to take his own life.
Harj Gahley now works at Red Card helping those with gambling issues CREDIT: HARJ GAHLEY
Mr Gahley views this incident as a turning point which led him to seek professional help.
He now works for Red Card, a charity aiding those facing similar challenges, and advocates for a complete ban on gambling ads on London’s transport network, drawing parallels with Bristol’s successful move in 2021.
Dr. Tom Coffery said efforts to stop gambling at the earliest stage are ongoing through the A New Deal for Young People initiative.
The programme aims to identify characteristics in young people that may lead to problematic gambling and aims to provide mentorship to 100,000 young people in London by early next year.
If you or someone you know is affected by problematic gambling help is available at Be Gamble Aware or call 0808 8020 133.
If you are, or anyone you know is, suffering from thoughts of self-harm, please contact the Samaritans on 116 123, or text SHOUT on 85258.
