Home > A safer bet? Online gambling and mental health.

Holkar, Merlyn and Lees, Chris (2020) A safer bet? Online gambling and mental health. London: Money and Mental Health Policy Institute.

[img]
Preview
PDF (A safer bet? Online gambling and mental health)
1MB

This report explores the harm that people with mental health problems can experience when gambling online. It highlights that having a mental health problem can make it harder to stay in control of online gambling, which can contribute to financial and psychological harm. The report sets out:

  • Key drivers of gambling-related harm for people with mental health problems
  • The views of people with mental health problems on how to reduce gambling-related harm 
  • Steps to make the online gambling environment safer by default and more responsive to harm.

Key Recommendations: 

  • Gambling firms should stop advertising online during the pandemic – a time when people are more exposed to financial hardship and distress
  • The government should place limits on online gambling stakes, like the existing limits on fixed-odds betting terminals
  • Online advertising operators — such as Google and Facebook — should work together to create an easy to use, single point exclusion tool to enable people to avoid online gambling adverts.

Repository Staff Only: item control page