Published: 17.04.2020, 16:11
5 min read
“GambleAware” is an independent charitable organization that campaigns to reduce gambling-related harm. Its official stance is that gambling is a public health issue. On April 3rd, 2020, the Chief Executive of GambleAware,Marc Etches, sent a public letter to the MP group that studies gambling’s social and economic impacts. Etches addressed the letter to Lord Grade, who is the Chairman of the committee.
What Did the Letter Contain?
The letter began by introducing some key information about GambleAware. For instance, it covered the organization’s charitable objectives, which are twofold. Its first purpose is to prevent and treat gambling-induced harm for the benefit of the public. The second purpose is to promote a public health initiative that offers three levels of prevention. These levels are:
- Primary: Universal promotion of reducing gambling risks
- Secondary: Targeted interventions for at-risk individuals
- Tertiary: Direct support for people who are directly or indirectly impacted by a gambling addiction
Etches went on to explain how GambleAware collaborates with expert agencies, such as the National Health Service (NHS), in order to commission preventative services. The charity has committed approximately £45 million of funding to services that include:
- Facets of the National Gambling Treatment Service & the National Gambling Hotline
- Local public health campaigns
- Preventative research in over 30 British universities
Over the past two years, GambleAware has doubled both its funding and its amount of commissions.
The final part of the introductory section introduced the Board of Trustee Members and its Chair, Kate Lampard. GambleAware currently has 23 staff members, which includes employees who have full time and part-time positions.
After that, Etches moved on to detailing GambleAware’s financial agreements with various treatment providers. The organization has submitted evidence to the Commission containing details of its collaboration with the National Gambling Treatment Service. The evidence also contained information about GambleAware’s commission of ViewItUK, which will publish gambling activity data in Fall 2020. ViewItUK’s findings will help the Parliament, related agencies, and other stakeholders to understand gambling-related treatments.
Etches mentioned that GambleAware, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), and the UKGC have agreed to develop a program that will inspect treatment services. Even though all three parties have agreed to the program, they will not all be carrying out independent inspections. Rather, the CQC will be responsible for that.
Etches assured Lord Grade that the professional relationship between their commissioners and treatment providers is purely collaborative. Providers have never begged for money, even if this was suggested during a previous Committee session. Etches also defended GambleAware against the Commission’s claims that the organization is using grants to enforce a market situation in which there is only one buyer, also known as a monopsony.
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GambleAware’s grants, according to Etches, don’t prohibit innovation or additional investments. On the other hand, its staff does its research to ensure that the organization does not engage in the double-funding of any treatment providers.
Etches finished the letter by emphasizing that the organization is fully dedicated to its mission of preventing harm and researching the best methods of doing so.
What Does GambleAware Do?
From the contents of the letter, it was clear that Etches is trying to defend GambleAware and its practices. He explained multiple times that the independent charitable organization is integral for preventing gambling-related harm. On the GambleAware website, there is a 2020 briefing note that contains valuable insights into the issues that the organization tackles.
GambleAware highlighted the fact that 11% of UK residents under the age of 16 have spent their own money on gambling in the week prior to the briefing note. This figure is lower than the number of minors who drink alcohol but higher than the amount who smoke cigarettes or take illegal drugs. Approximately 1.7% of children from ages 11 – 16 would be considered “problem gamblers.” 2.7% of minors are part of the “at-risk” category.
The briefing note went on to explain that gambling disorder is a “hidden addiction”, which means that it often isn’t noticed by victims’ friends and relatives. In addition to this, the problem is often ignored by legislators and health professionals.
The release then explained the three-tiered prevention model, which was also explained in the letter to Lord Grade. Where the release differed from the letter, however, is that it went into far greater detail about this model. The first tier receives £26 million in funding, the second tier receives £13 million, and the third tier receives £6.5 million.
During the first step of the model, which is commissioning the National Gambling Treatment Service, GambleAware provides funding for the emergency gambling helpline, which is available 24/7 year-round. This is also the stage in which the charity provides funding for a psychiatrist-led service provided by the Central and North-West London NHS Foundation Trust. GambleAware has also recently commissioned the opening of a second service under NHS jurisdiction, the Leeds & York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.
Another area that falls under the model’s first stage are GambleAware’s twelve-week rehab services. GambleAware commissions a counsel treatment delivered by the Gordon Moody Association, which offers assistance to people who cannot stay at a residential rehabilitation.
In the second step of the model, GambleAware provides funding to “behavior-change campaigns”, such as Bet Regret. That is a public health campaign that equips the public with the tools they need to combat boredom-induced gambling. Bet Regret impacts approximately 2 million at-risk men between the ages of 16 to 34 years old. The second step also covers funding to mental health services, schools, prisons, and youth workers. The briefing note contained a statistic that GambleAware has impacted 620 UK prisoners and 1,850 staff members.
In the third step, GambleAware provides funding for preventative research and evaluation. It has aided the compilation of a portfolio that contains over 30 mixed-method projects carried out by various academic researches. The organization has also funded 17 PhDs, with the hope that the recipients will be able to make unique contributions towards gambling knowledge.
