Tabled by the All-Party Group (APG) on Reducing Harm Related to Gambling, the motion calls for gambling to be officially recognised as a public health issue. Entitled ‘Supporting a Public Health Approach to Tackling Gambling-Related Harms’, the motion was submitted today (28 January).
The motion follows a year-long inquiry by the APG into public health approaches to tackling gambling harms in Northern Ireland. The APG put forward almost 60 recommendations based on its findings.
Key recommendations include that policies should incorporate population-based approaches that prioritise harm prevention. This would effectively bring gambling in line with the public health approach adopted for alcohol and tobacco.
The inquiry also notes an “urgent” need to protect children and those already experiencing harms from gambling-related marketing. Billed by the APG as “targeted and pervasive”, there is particular concern over marketing during sports broadcasts and on social media.
Other recommendations include a call for the minister of health to address an “unmet” need within the healthcare system by commissioning statutory services specifically for gambling disorder.
Vulnerability to gambling harm and addiction
Summing up, the APG urges the NI executive, departments and the UK government to take “decisive” action on these recommendations. The motion adds that up to 200,000 people could be indirectly affected by gambling harm in Northern Ireland each year.
Commenting on the motion, APG chair Philip McGuigan MLA said action is necessary to protect people in Northern Ireland.
“Adopting a public health approach means treating gambling in a similar way to alcohol and tobacco,” McGuigan said. “We need policies that focus not just on individual-level harms but also on population-based approaches that prioritise harm prevention.
“This is because, as with other legal addictive products, the whole population is vulnerable to gambling addiction and harm.”
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/sustainable-gambling/northern-ireland-debate-gambling-harm-motion/
