Combating Gambling Addiction – Is ‘Responsible Gambling’ the Answer?

Helen Holmes April 29, 2013

In an article published in The Conversation, Charles Livingstone, a senior lecturer in the Global Health and Society at Monash University, discussed the increasing problems about gambling addiction and why ‘responsible gambling’, which is encouraged among the ‘end users’ rather than the providers, is unlikely to solve the problem.

Responsible Gambling

Over 50 per cent of adults in Britain gamble at least once a month, and there are more than 2,500 online gambling websites that can be accessed from the country (most of them are operated by small companies that are primarily licensed in Britain), according to the data provided by the charity Gambler Aware UK. There is no denying that gambling has completely destroyed families, friendships and lives of many people. Those who develop addiction to gambling develop problems controlling their impulses and behaviour, which takes away their time with family and causes them to be indebted once they can no longer provide for their financial needs.

Because of this, more and more charities and organisations worldwide are raising social awareness about gambling addiction and how to deal with it. Recently in Australia, the government, through the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation (VRGF), launched the reality TV show “Fight for the Real You” featuring real people as they share stories through a daily video diary about how they deal with their gambling addiction throughout a 100-day challenge. VRGF was established by the Victorian government to reduce gambling harms, fund research, and so on. The stories will be featured in cinema and online commercials, radio advertisements, and in the internet. Posters about the campaign will also be distributed in gaming venues. Furthermore, an online tool will be made accessible to individuals who want to control or stop their gambling addiction. The tool will provide links to counselling services and forums.

Will this save people from the havoc of gambling?

Livingstone argued that although such kind of campaigns can help people overcome their gambling problems, its effectiveness is highly debatable. He pointed out that education programmes, awareness campaigns and counselling services are all directed towards the users of poker machines. On the other hand, there was very little or no actions done at all to limit the providers or companies that have given people the access to gambling. “It may also be at odds with the campaign’s goal to reduce the stigma thought to hinder take up of counselling.” He said there were no policies that restrict gambling providers from creating advertisements.

So what can stop gambling?

The best way to solve the situation is to fix its root cause, Livingstone explained. This method, according to him, is derived from the history of public health movement which involves mapping the patterns of a disease to discover its origin and formulating strategies or treatments to deal with it. He said the public health has learnt long ago that it is far more efficient, more humane, and less expensive to fix the problem rather than to deal with its consequences.

In Australia for instance, poker machines are the main cause of gambling, Livingstone argued. This is because these machines are high-impact and devour a lot of money. These features lead to an effect called ‘addiction by design’. But the government has no plans to ban the use of poker machines. They simply want to ‘limit the harm that these can inflict to the users. The Productivity Commission, the independent research and advisory body on a range of economic, social and environmental issues in Australia, offers two suggestions. First, allow people to pre-set a solid limit of time they will spend on gambling. Second, lower the maximum bets to $1 from $10 per spin.

“At its core, “responsible gambling” is a downstream response. It deflects responsibility to affected individuals and, for the most part, only after they’ve fallen off a cliff.” According to Livingstone, it is time to stop reminding people that falling into addiction is their entire fault. He hopes to see actions taken to address the root cause of the problem, and not merely to save people from the consequences when it’s already too late.

Source of this article:

Responsible gambling and the spectacle of the ‘problem gambler’