It’s not only gambling firms funding NHS addiction services – healthcare hypocrisy is rife

The government needs to act on its newfound wisdom on the betting industry and stop others with a potential conflict of interest, writes Ian Hamilton

‘Severing the link between the gambling industry and treatment is welcome but should never have been in place to begin with’ (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

At last, the NHS has cut its links with the gambling industry. The mental health director of the NHS, Claire Murdoch, has announced that it will stop taking cash from the gambling industry to fund specialist gambling addiction services.

In this rare example of the government actually listening to those affected by gambling, Murdoch said the decision had been made following complaints from patients and doctors about this funding arrangement. She accused the gambling industry of using “predatory tactics” that are part of the problem, not the solution.

There are an estimated 2.9 million people in the UK who are at risk of harm from gambling. Contrast this with the 668 individuals referred to gambling clinics between April and December last year, even though that was a 16 per cent rise on the previous year.