Gambling, despite being seen as a destructive and dangerous habit in many countries around the world, remains a popular habit in the United Kingdom, and one which has become integrated into the country’s mainstream culture. However, the authorities still do not have an adequate system in place to deal with the issues surrounding gambling, especially addiction.

Gambling of all kinds earns the U.K. government a lot of money, and therefore also consumes a high proportion of its people’s disposable income, especially that of the working classes. From April to September 2020, the U.K. spent £5.9bn on gambling in the 9,036 in-person gambling premises around the country. Based on the estimated population in that year, this means that there was 1 gambling premise for every 7,414 people, which is more than secondary schools, general practitioner surgeries, and libraries. Betting shops have overrun our high streets, stealing money and attention away from the amenities that benefit society, whilst giving nothing of value back to society or the people who frequent them.

Even worse is the fact that betting companies seem to focus their attention more on those people who are not as financially stable, and therefore have a lot more to lose from problem gambling. The ten U.K. towns with the highest proportion of betting shops per capita have an average yearly wage of £19,552, as opposed to the ten with the lowest proportion, where the average wage is £23,660. This is a worrying statistic, as direct access to multiple betting shops means it is easy for people to enter the premises and spend the little disposable income they have, sometimes even their non-disposable income, which is one of the biggest issues with these companies targeting lower-income areas.

Problem gambling and gambling addiction are not as well-understood as more mainstream addictions such as drugs or alcohol but can be just as harmful to those who do not get the proper treatment. Gambling addiction is thought to affect up to 593,000 people in the U.K., which is around 0.9 percent of the population. Despite not causing any physical health problems in addicts, this addiction, through the financial strain and feelings of guilt and embarrassment, can cause crippling mental health issues, and it has led to nearly 1 in 5 problem gamblers considering suicide in 2019. Of these, around 500 people a year commit suicide as a direct result of gambling.

Despite having no official government body available in the U.K. to look after problem gamblers and their families, some charities have been set up to do just that job. Gambling With Lives is one such charity, which was set up by the friends and families of people who took their lives as a result of gambling. Their aim, aside from offering support to other families who have lost people to gambling-induced suicide and raising awareness of the potential dangers of the habit, is to change the nature of the gambling industry. They would like betting companies to introduce affordability limits and wealth checks on users, end VIP schemes, and other incentives that entice new customers into gambling and enforce age restrictions a lot more strictly. They are also calling for the U.K. government to outlaw advertising for gambling establishments, including sports sponsorship, and implement an NHS problem gambling prevention and treatment program.

The popularity of high street betting shops has remained high in the U.K. since their introduction in 1961, but recently online casinos and bingo sites have made gambling quicker, easier, and more widely available for everyone. Especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, websites like this provided an alternative to in-person gambling, as well as introducing people who had never previously gambled to a whole new world where they could while away the endless hours of lockdown and their hard-earned money. In fact, in 2020, online gambling held the highest percentage of earnings for all gambling in the U.K., accounting for 38.6 percent of the total.

It is going to be a long and hard road for the U.K. to change the habits and opinions of 60 years, and charities like Gambling With Lives expect to be faced with much opposition from the gambling purists who claim that betting is an important part of the country’s society. However, the risks associated with gambling dependency should not be ignored, and hopefully, real change can be made in the near future.