Between October 2023 and December 2023, those seeking help for gambling-related harm from the National Gambling Support Network received treatment by a professional in an average of three and half days.
GambleAware has released data to celebrate its first anniversary. The National Gambling Support Network is a GambleAware-commissioned service.
In the third quarter of 2023, the organizations within the service reached out to those seeking treatment in an average time frame of 1.3 days. National Gambling Support Network consists of eleven organisations.
New data revealed also that in January 2024, the National Gambling Helpline received the most calls and chats online since its launch. Totalling 4,816. It is the sixth record to be broken since the start of 2023.
GamCare has operated the National Gambling Helpline for over 25 years. GambleAware funded GamCare for three more years 12 months ago.
Stuart Andrew, the minister responsible for gambling, said that the increase in the number of calls made to the Helpline showed the importance of this service.
He said that the increase in the number of calls made to the National Gambling Helpline showed the need for people who are suffering from gambling addictions to receive the appropriate help.
In our last-year’s white paper, we included a number of measures that would prevent gambling harms from occurring, such as stake limits on online slots and financial risk assessments, and a tax levied against gambling companies in order to raise funds for gambling research, prevention, and treatment.
GambleAware supports a statutory levied for additional care
The National Gambling Helpline statistics also showed that 28175 people received short interventions, which are classified as 20-minute conversations or longer.
“The GambleAware-commissioned National Gambling Support Network is designed to prevent the escalation of harms associated with gambling,” said Anna Hargrave, chief commissioning officer at GambleAware. It is heartening hearing the positive impacts the services make on the lives of people and how they can help.
The NHS will continue to benefit from the expertise of these essential providers, once the levy has been introduced.
GambleAware, NHS England and other organizations have endorsed a proposed statutory levied on operators. This is one of several measures in the white paper for the Gambling Act Review.
Online gambling operators would pay a fee of 1% on their gross gaming yield. This would then be paid by the Gambling Commission and distributed to UK Research and Innovation and the NHS.
GambleAware reported last week that over 100,000 people had used its tool since it was launched.
