The UK Government has asked the Gambling Commission to undertake another review of the current voluntary arrangements for industry funding of gambling research, public education and treatment and to report on this. On 19 September 2007, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) first asked the Commission to carry out such a review, and the announcement coincided with the publication of the British Gambling Prevalence Survey 2007, which found that rates of problem gambling had remained at 0.6% of the adult population since the last survey in 1999.

The report will comment on funding levels, how priorities are determined and the money spent, and whether a statutory levy should be considered. Included under the terms of reference for the review is the identification of the most appropriate organisational arrangements for the commissioning of research, education and treatment, and the Commission will report its recommendations by 30 September 2008. The Commission will take account both of the current arrangements and of other relevant national and international models.

Asking the question ‘What education is needed?’ the review will consider the industry funding required for nationally or regionally co-ordinated preventive education activities targeted at particular groups in the population. However, according to the Commission’s second consultation paper, one of the difficulties in determining a suitable programme of preventive education results from the current lack of evidence as to whether preventive education activities are effective in changing problem-causing behaviours.

Despite this, there is a general view internationally held that targeted preventive education activities can have a positive impact and can lead to measurable increases in awareness of services, use of helplines and treatment. What is less clear is the value and level of impact of national prevention campaigns targeted at the general population. The Commission states that the lack of firm evidence as to what preventive education activity is effective presents some difficulty in determining what should be funded but that there are clear advantages in attempting to prevent a problem rather than providing support for those who are harmed by it. There is also consensus that preventive education activity should be targeted at those groups who are ‘at risk’, those who are potentially vulnerable and those who have already developed a problem.

The Commission considers there should be further research to identify target groups and appropriate messages; piloting of new approaches before they are widely rolled out; and evaluation of approaches. It adds that there is also consensus that, as a minimum, target groups should include young people since they may be particularly prone to risk-taking behaviour. Therefore, activities such as the current RIGT funded youth programmes targeted in schools (Tacade) and other youth settings should continue and consideration should be given to funding the expansion of this into universities.

Funding from the gaming industry would be required for training of key professionals, including healthcare and social workers, Citizens Advice Bureaux and debt counsellors. It would also be required for the provision of an appropriate web resource and for publicising these sources with marketing resources. Evidence from overseas jurisdictions such as Canada, New Zealand and many parts of the United States suggests that preventive education in relation to gambling is underdeveloped in the UK. It also shows that spend on educational activities is proportionately greater than the amount spent on research and less than the amount spent on treatment.

On this basis, the Commission concludes that £500,000 would be needed to support a programme with young people and students, but could be significantly more if expanded to cover university students. An estimated £50,000 is needed for a web resource such as gambleaware.co.uk and an additional £500,000 for leaflets and training for professionals. Current funding provision for education is £900,000 according to the business plan from the charitable trust, Responsibility in Gambling Trust (RIGT), which is funded voluntarily by the gambling industry. This figure is supposed to rise to £1,550,000 in 2008/2009 out of a total budget of £5,440,00.

For the past two years RIGT has reached its funding targets but because a large number of operators do not contribute according to the RIGT funding formula, RIGT has difficulty raising the funds. The Commission considers that the current voluntary system for making contributions is not working satisfactorily. The options are, therefore, either to move to a levy, which might or might not be part of a ‘mixed’ approach, or to ensure, accepting a degree of freeloading, that a more robust voluntary system is put in place. (E-05.19.08)

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