Glasgow must be empowered to act on gambling regulation, warns councillor

Gambling must be recognised as a public health hazard with gambling powers devolved to the Scottish Government in a bid to tackle the issue, a local councillor has warned.

More robust regulation over operators and technology are also needed to safeguard those who partake in the pastime as well as gamers.

Later this week a motion will be presented to full council by councillor Laura Doherty commenting on the findings of the white paper called “High stakes: gambling reform for the digital age”.

It sets out the UK government's plan to reform the regulation and legislation governing the gambling sector following the review of the Gambling Act 2005.

The white paper also confirms that ensuring gambling safety is a top government priority and that while people should be free to choose how they spend their money, when gambling poses a threat of becoming a clinical addiction the government needs to ensure proper protections are in place.

In her motion which will be presented to local authority members on Thursday, councillor Doherty says that Scotland and the local government must be empowered to take action on this [issue].

It reads: “The long overdue statutory gambling operator levy which will replace the current voluntary levy which is not fit for purpose, must see equitable funding come directly to Scotland and Glasgow in order to fund treatment and support its work on addressing gambling harms.

The UK Treasury must design and deliver funding that is proportionate and fair and invests in those local communities where there is a proliferation of "environmental bads" such as gambling fuelled by poverty and its harms addressed.”

Since 2018, Glasgow City Council has created a Glasgow Gambling Harms Group in partnership with the Scottish Public Health Network, established a multi-agency group, refreshed the council’s gambling workforce support policy and launched a city-wide action plan to prevent and reduce harm from gambling.

The motion continues: “Glasgow's track record of a whole systems approach involving researchers, stakeholders and people with lived experience sets it apart.

“Due to this, Glasgow is best positioned as a city to develop a UK centre of excellence in addressing gambling harms, to fund research, education and treatment of gambling harms."

If approved, the Chief Executive’s department will be asked to bring an update on gambling harms to the wellbeing and equalities committee after recess.

By Catherine Hunter