According to new figures released by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC), people suffering from gambling-related problems remain at a low of 0.2% in the first half of 2022.The news was applauded by the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) who have campaigned for safer gambling reform and the positive success of operators’ cooperation in the battle against gambling-related harm.However, the report shows young adults between the age of 16-24 are the most vulnerable.
Problem Gambling Rate Decline
Up until June 2022, the problem gambling rate fell from 0.4% in 2021, and the figure of 0.2% in April 2022 remained stable at the end of June 2022 according to the UKGC.Michael Dugher from the BGC said, “It is essential that we do not do anything that inadvertently drives the 22.5 million regular punters away from the regulated industry and into the arms of the unsafe, unregulated, and growing black-market online. Most problem gamblers do not suffer from addiction, gambling addiction requires clinical assessments. The two are conflated, but they are entirely different.”After the resignation of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the White Paper on the Gambling Act reform has been delayed for the fourth time. Until a new PM is elected in September the paper will not be published until such time.
Latest Statistics
The figures are part of the UKGC quarterly survey which includes a group of 4.018 applicants and the stable trend is a reflection of fewer people becoming victims of gambling-related harm.The ratio between men and women in gambling remained at 0.3% and 0.1% respectively. Surprisingly the group deemed as most vulnerable were aged between 16-24 at 0.8%, however, year on year the results show a positive step in the right direction in beating gambling-related harm.Mr Dugher said, “These newly released figures are yet again further evidence of the positive progress we have made on problem gambling, which is low by international standards and has fallen in recent times, thanks to the many initiatives we have taken including using advertising to promote safer gambling tools like deposit limits and time-outs, as well as other changes we have made to further raise standards.”