NHS gambling support services see 50% rise in people seeking help
The service is opening its fifteenth clinic to reach more people
New figures from the NHS have revealed that there has been a fifty-percent increase in the number of people seeking help for gambling.
The NHS is launching a new specialist gambling clinic on Saturday (March 16th) in order to bolster its support for people being affected by gambling.
With the new site in Sheffield, South Yorkshire - this is the fifteenth problem gambling clinic in England, of which seven were opened to treat those needing support.
Currently, 3,000 people are treated by the health service annually for problems related to gambling,
The NHS' first clinic opened in London in 2008 and offers treatments to patients over the age of 13.
According to the latest statistics, a total of 421 referrals were made to the clinic within the last past year.
But the chief executive of the NHS, Amanda Pritchard, is clear that help for addicts has to come from places beyond the health service.
"We are asking for more to be done from societies as a whole, from the gambling industry, to help to manage what can be a really serious set of problems with problem gambling and gambling addiction, which can be deeply destructive and destroy lives," she said.
The gambling industry is valuable in the UK, having been last approximated to bring in some £14bn to the economy every year.
But Matt Gaskell, from the Manchester branch of the service, says that the clinics are needing to practice gambling safely.
"We're picking up pieces from a gambling industry that's well out of control and our laws and regulations haven't kept up with it. People are suffering - people are struggling - it's hidden, it's quiet," Matt said.
"Families and our communities are suffering at the hands of the industry so it is really important people come forward and get the help and support they need and deserve."
Between 2022 and 2023, there were 1,389 referrals to NHS gambling clinics in England. That was a 79% rise on two years earlier - 775 referrals were made between 2020 and 2021.
The Gambling Commission says it is in the process of piloting new ways of assessing a customer's financial vulnerabilities, as part of new government proposals.
The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), which represents the majority of betting shops, online betting and gaming, told Sky News: "BGC members each year contribute tens of millions of pounds towards research, prevention and treatment to help prevent gambling-related harm and tackle problem gambling, which is currently paid through a unique voluntary levy scheme.
"This funds an independent network of charities, which treats around 85% of all problem gamblers receiving treatment in Britain."
For more information on gambling, please visit the NHS website.