Acknowledging the new gambling commission figures, the BGC Betting and Gambling Council has recorded that the rate of problem gambling fell to 0.2% in the year to March 2022.
The recent statistics show that the rate of problem gambling starting this year to March 2022 experienced a downward trend of 0.2%, this moves from 0.4% in the previous year and down from 0.3% in the last release of annualized figures in February 2022.
The rates of problem gambling among women have remained stable at as low as 0.1% during this time frame. Betting and Gambling Council noted that the figures are equal to a drop from 225,000 problem gamblers to 113,000 within this interval.
The Betting and Gambling Council CEO, Michael Dugher said:
These newly announced figures are further evidence of positive progress and emphasize our calls for ministers to take a genuine evidence-based approach to the upcoming White Paper and dissuade the anti-gambling lobby.
“Our initiatives have included using adverts to promote safer gambling tools like deposit limits and time outs, changes to advertising, investing more in research and treatment, and introducing strict new rules on VIPs schemes.
The industry’s body warned that while data is welcome, it occurs amid increasing use of black market sites in the UK, with the number of players on such sites more than doubling and increasing in just two years, and the amount of revenue staked now in billions of pounds.
The CEO added:
“That the regulated betting and gambling industry is determined to improve and promote safer gambling, unlike the other unsafe, unregulated, and growing online black market circulated around, which has none of the regulations which are the norms among Betting Gambling Commission members.
Ministers should not pursue customers into the arms of the black market by introducing intruding personal checks for non-problem gamblers and those not at risk to this trend or by removing the offers that punters in a highly competitive market enjoy
