Although gambling is a fun pastime for many, for others, it can cause problems. Gambling-related harm can occur when a player is no longer in control of their behaviour and finds that gambling is affecting their everyday life.
It can have dangerous consequences on mental and even physical health, as well as impacting the person’s relationships. It’s a serious problem. That’s why it’s so important that providers and governing bodies work together to minimise the risk of harm and help those already feeling the consequences.
Let’s look at some of the ways this is done in the UK, and any further developments we could see in the future.
How Is the UK Addressing Gambling-Related Harm?
Promoting Responsible Gambling Tools
One of the ways providers look to combat gambling harm is by promoting the use of responsible gambling tools. These include limits, breaks and reminders, and self-exclusion. Let’s explore these tools in more detail now.
Limits
At the majority of providers in the UK, including those found on leading comparison sites like NewCasinos, players can set limits to help themselves remain in control of their playing. These include deposit, time, and loss limits. They’re easily accessible through player profiles and simple to understand and use.
Players can also customise limits depending on their budget and the time period they’d like the limit to apply to. Here’s a quick definition from the UK Gambling Commission glossary of what each limit means:
- Deposit Limits: a limit on the amount a player can deposit into their account over a set time period. For example, £10 in a week.
- Time Limits: these are just like they sound; time limits restrict how long you can play on a site. A player might set two hours over a week, for example, and when they hit that limit, they won’t be able to access the site any longer.
- Loss Limits: players can set how much they’re comfortable with losing over a set amount of time.
Breaks and Reminders
Breaks and reminders are some of the other tools players can make the most of at providers in the UK. Players can take a break, usually a short spell, starting from a few days and stretching up to months, from a provider. During this time, they’re prevented from playing at the provider, helping them to remain in control of their gambling activity.
Reminders are another great tool available to players. They help them manage the time they spend gambling by displaying a reminder after a set period of time.
For example, a message could appear every half an hour to highlight how long they’ve been on the site. These messages usually emphasise the importance of responsible gambling and taking breaks.
Self-exclusion
For those who recognise they are developing a problem with gambling, self-exclusion is a vital tool. It allows them to prevent themselves from accessing a provider for a certain amount of time. In the UK, the time period for self-exclusion usually begins at a year and can extend to five years, or even permanently.
During the exclusion period, it’s not possible for players to use a provider. They can self-exclude from individual sites or use tools like GamBan to exclude from all sites. This is an essential tool for reducing harm as it completely stops play.
Providing Educational Resources
There’s a misconception surrounding responsible gambling tools, like deposit and time limits, that they’re only for players with problems. This isn’t the case at all; rather, responsible gambling tools are important for all players to use as a preventative measure.
Changing these perceptions is a vital part of responsible gambling. That’s why educational and support groups like GambleAware are so important.
Self-assessments
Alongside the educational resources found at providers throughout the UK, players can also make use of self-assessments. These are questionnaires that help them determine the level of risk in their relationship with gambling.
It can be difficult for players to recognise the signs of problem gambling within themselves. That’s why self-assessments are so helpful. They provide a list of signs players may not have even known about.
Going through a questionnaire helps players reflect on their relationship and recognise any problems that may be developing.
Spreading Responsible Gambling Awareness
One way that the UK looks to educate players on the importance of responsible gambling is through spreading awareness. Readers have likely seen responsible gambling advertisements on television or noticed the declaration at the bottom of an ad from a betting provider. These ads help mitigate the harm of gambling advertisements, which reports frequently link to increased levels of gambling.
Another example of the promotion of responsible gambling is Safer Gambling Week. It’s an initiative held each year, for one week in November, to emphasise the importance of responsible gambling.
Players can find resources on the Safer Gambling Week site about the different tools on offer and how to use them. They also include links to support groups, as well as instructions on limiting gambling ads and payments.
Upcoming Changes in the UK to Tackle Gambling Harm
Despite the existing methods that providers and governing bodies use to combat gambling harm, it’s still a prominent issue in the UK. A 2023 survey by the UKGC found that 2.5% of respondents scored 8 or higher on the Problem Gambling Index, which categorises someone’s risk of developing gambling problems. A further 3.5% scored between 3 and 7, indicating the prevalence of problem gambling in the UK.
It’s also worth noting how difficult it can be to accurately estimate those experiencing the effects of gambling harm. Findings from the UKGC often don’t align with other national surveys.
They attribute this to social desirability bias, where participants don’t wish to share their gambling habits face to face, and selection bias, where those who gamble more are more likely to participate in the survey.
Mandatory Deposit Limits
One of the problems with tools like limits is that they rely on players to take the initiative and set them. As we mentioned earlier, there’s a common misconception that these limits are for those with a problem. This can stop players from making the effort to set things like deposit limits or reminders.
To tackle this issue, the UKGC has begun making some forms of limits mandatory. From October 31st, 2025, deposit limits will become mandatory at all UK providers. When players are setting up their account, they will be asked to set a deposit limit they’re comfortable with.
Providers will also have to ask them to review this limit every six months to make sure it’s effective. Making deposit limits mandatory will, of course, mean more players will make use of this valuable tool to help control their spending.
If the change from optional is successful, it’s likely we’ll see some other responsible tools becoming mandatory, such as reminders or time limits.
Proposed Financial Vulnerability Checks
At the moment, the UKGC is trialling a system that introduces low level financial checks for those signing up to a provider. These use publicly available information, like credit reports, to check whether players can afford to gamble. They also flag things such as bankruptcy records, which indicate a player is vulnerable to experiencing financial harm from gambling.
Trials of these vulnerability checks began back in 2023 with a small, controlled group. If the UKGC sees them as successful in reducing harm, we could see them rolled out across the UK in the next few years.
Is Enough Being Done to Combat Gambling Harm in the UK?
There are a lot of tools available to players in the UK to reduce the risk of harm from gambling. These include the likes of limits, breaks and reminders, and self-exclusion.
Both providers and governing bodies like the UKGC recognise the importance of spreading awareness about the importance of responsible gambling. That’s why there are great initiatives, like Safer Gambling Week, to help promote it.
Although there’s a good range of methods to combat gambling harm, it’s still a sizable problem in the UK. The UKGC hopes to tackle this with upcoming changes, like mandatory deposit limits and potentially financial vulnerability checks.
It’s important we keep innovating to find new solutions to problem gambling to ensure all players can stay safe while having fun gambling.
