The “lazy thinking” behind the introduction of the RET Levy risks being “incredibly damaging” to problem gambling treatment in the UK.
These were the words of Regulus Partners’ Dan Waugh, who delivered a stark warning on the consequences of the NHS’s appointment as chief commissioner of problem gambling treatment to those in attendance at the Deal Me Out conference.
“I think it’s rather concerning, not just for the organisation in the [third sector] who may be worried about losing the funding, but also from the people that are meant to be in health,” he said. “The line is emerging from the NHS which is to say that if you have a gaming disorder, it’s nothing to do with you, it’s entirely down to addictive products.
“There’s a real concern that this ideology which some people in the NHS appear to be peddling will get forced on the rest of the treatment, that could have devastating consequences for the people that need to be helped here.”
Commencing in April, operators will now be required to contribute to a statutory levy, with contributions linked to gross gambling yield.
30% of the funding, predicted to be over £100m annually, is earmarked for prevention, led by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparity (OHID).
However, Waugh was scathing of the intentions of the department and the “incoherent” approach bringing prevention and treatment under the same policy, given that the funding of services is now linked to gross gambling yield.
He said: “OHID doesn’t really see the distinction between gambling and gambling harms. So if you’ve got one part of the levy ecosystem lobbying for gambling to be discouraged or denormalised, in the words of the Lancet Commission, the pot of money is going to decrease.
“So you have one part of the ecosystem lobbying in a way that results in less treatment funds being made available.”
Third sector being targeted
Under previous frameworks, the third sector, including organisations like GambleAware and Gordon Moody, provided around 85% of safer gambling support, funded by voluntary operator contributions. However, it is currently unclear as to the level of funding safer gambling organisations will receive under the new regulations.
This uncertainty over funding, Monica Shafaq, Chief Executive of Gordon Moody, explained, has been exacerbated by the calls from some within gambling reform to exclude organisations that have been “tarnished” by taking money from the industry in the past.
“There is a view that organisations that are taking industry money shouldn’t be commissioned going forward,” she said. “That would be extremely harmful not just to the organisations, but the people that we serve because we all have a wealth of experience, skills and expertise in the sector.”
Shafaq also cautioned against the impact of other addiction treatment organisations entering the sector, given the opportunity for funding.
She said: “Supporting an addiction such as gambling is very different to supporting somebody who may have alcohol addiction or substance misuse issues. It’s very different in terms of the way that people respond to it and the way that it’s treated. So it’s not a catch-all addiction that some organisations feel they might be able to support.”
The NHS’s procurement laws and requirement to put contracts out to tender to organisations beyond the traditional third sector, Shafaq admitted, may also put the likes of Gordon Moody “on the back foot” as they compete with larger entities with more established infrastructure.
Defiance amongst the uncertainty
Whatever happens in the coming months and years, the sentiment among panellists was that those who need support the most will not be left behind amid the upheaval.
Shafaq expressed her hopes that “more rational heads are going to prevail” and that stakeholders will be “heard and valued” in the conversation. However, even though Gordon Moody has largely focused its efforts on the UK, Shafaq revealed that the organisation is considering ways to “think abroad” to diversify its funding streams.
“Ultimately, if we have to sustain the service, we need to be able to do something extra. We need to be able to bring funding into the UK to support the people here,” she said. “That’s what it’s all about, the thing has to be about the people who need our services.”
This sentiment was also shared by Duncan Garvie, Founder of BetBlocker, who stated: “I’m coming to the point where I see the UK as an unreliable funding partner, and that’s a real shame.
“If we get defunded in the UK, we will not stop supporting the UK, we need to be absolutely clear about that. We will continue to support the UK and will continue to lobby internally, [asking] why isn’t the UK helping us to deliver [support].”
