UK: Tax gambling firms to fund addiction treatment, says NHS director

UK: Tax gambling firms to fund addiction treatment, says NHS director

Article brief provided by The Guardian
  • Rob Davies, The Guardian
April 7, 2021 1:45 AM
  • Rob Davies, The Guardian

Gambling firms have profited during the pandemic but are leaving the NHS [National Health Service] to “pick up the pieces” of addiction and should be hit with a compulsory levy to fund treatment, the head of mental health in England has said.

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Claire Murdoch – national mental health director for NHS England – denounced the voluntary system that lets the industry dictate how much it contributes to helping addicts.

In an intervention that comes amid a government review of laws governing the £11bn-a-year sector, Murdoch said 750 people have been referred to specialist clinics for treatment of serious addiction since April 2020. The health service is planning to open more gambling clinics across the country because it believes it is currently only reaching “the tip of the iceberg.”