The simple fact though is the whole gambling industry has long ignored the harm caused by its addictive by design electronic gambling machine products including FOBTs, online roulette, and casino slots.
It has preferred to repeat over and over its narrative that responsible gambling is fun, and that it signposts people to help in the small number of cases where appropriate.
The problem now facing the industry is that it has become almost impossible to maintain this narrative in the face of a number of high profile failures to keep harm and crime out of gambling and increasing evidence from the Gambling Commission that electronic gambling machines make huge and disproportionate profit from a very small number of customers with gambling addiction.
The solution is actually very simple:
1) Implement the requirement that regardless of sector customers have to open an account to play any electronic gambling machine product.
2) Implement the requirement that as part of the account opening process ID and affordability checks are done via the Credit Reference Agencies and that a responsible gambling limit is set.
3) Implement the requirement for player tracking software with alerts for risky play activity including chasing losses.
With the current media interest relaying information to its audience daily about gambling harm the industry is very sensitive to any proposals for robust and effective solutions to stop gambling harm that would seriously impact its profits in the process.
This is when you can spot the industry plant life frantically trying to justify the continuation of half baked solutions that allow the misery money to keep flowing.
It must not be allowed to happen.
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