The UK’s gambling harm reduction sector is in turmoil following new clinical guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which mandate that gambling treatment services must be independent of industry influence.
NICE, which issued its first-ever clinical guidance on gambling-related harms on January 28, 2025, recommended that general practitioners ask patients about gambling habits when discussing smoking and alcohol consumption. It also advised the NHS to prescribe Naltrexone, a drug typically used for alcohol and opioid addiction, in cases where psychological therapy proves ineffective.
The guidelines, particularly a directive that treatment services must operate without gambling industry involvement, have fractured relationships within the harm reduction sector, experts said to NEXT.io.
Frank McCready, a former head of safer gambling at GamCare and now with responsible gambling consultancy Better Change, said the uncertainty was creating anxiety among stakeholders. “People are very nervous and don’t know which direction they should be taking,” McCready told the cited source.
McCready pointed to GamCare’s decision to discontinue its Safer Gambling Standard function at the end of 2024 due to concerns it could compromise NHS partnerships.
Robert Mabbett, engagement director at Better Change, echoed these concerns, warning that experienced professionals were being excluded from harm reduction efforts.
“The industry voluntarily provided both money and expertise. Now, industry voices are being dismissed, and experienced professionals are being locked out simply because of past associations,” Mabbett said.
“I could have understood this approach a decade ago when safer gambling expertise within the industry was limited, but now thousands of professionals work full-time on harm reduction and customer protection. Dismissing their expertise makes no sense,” he added.
The sector also faces uncertainty over funding. Gambling operators voluntarily donated £120 million ($148.96 million) between 2019 and 2024 to research, education, and treatment. Now, a new mandatory levy could raise £100 million ($124.14 million) annually, but there is little clarity on how funds will be allocated.
Some experts warn that excluding industry-linked professionals from harm-reduction efforts could be counterproductive.
McCready cited an incident at a public health event in East Yorkshire in November 2024, where organizations with industry connections had their invitations revoked just 24 hours before the event.
“That’s the clearest example of direct exclusion I’ve seen. It was a crying shame that groups wanting to support public health efforts were shut out simply due to perceived conflicts of interest,” he said.
The situation has been compounded by legal scrutiny. The Good Law Project’s complaint against GambleAware, alleging undue industry influence, was dismissed, but its ripple effects persist, with organizations now overly cautious about partnerships.
As a result, GambleAware requires funding applicants to have had no direct industry links for the past 12 months, effectively barring some experienced professionals.
With the sector in flux, experts warn that the lack of clarity and collaboration could hinder efforts to tackle gambling harm.
“We need transparency, collaboration, and a realistic approach to tackling gambling harm,” McCready said. “Instead, we’re seeing division, exclusion, and a reluctance to tap into expertise that has been built over years.”
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2025/01/31/93633-uk-gambling-harm-reduction-sector-faces-upheaval-over-new-guidelines
