Haringey is FIRST UK Council to Back National Ban on Gambling Advertising
Haringey Council has become the first local authority in the UK to join the Coalition to End Gambling Ads. The Coalition (CEGA) is a group of organisations including; ADPH UK, Faculty of Public Health, Royal Society of Public Health, Gam Learn and Gambling with Lives, working together to push for a ban on advertising of gambling, which has proliferated in recent years.
The signing of this strong commitment puts pressure on the UK Government to restrict gambling advertising and the negative influence this can have on individuals and their families.
There are as many as 8,000 people experiencing gambling harms in Haringey. Another 25,000 people are affected more widely by these harms, for example family and friends. It is also estimated that gambling harms lose the borough over £8 million in associated harm-related costs every year. These include costs associated with homelessness, adult social care, NHS costs, unpaid rents and more.
At an event to mark Haringey joining the coalition to end gambling ads, Director of Public Health and Co Chair of ADPH London outlined that gambling is a public health issue that ruins lives and has harmful impact across the wider community. It is notable that the gambling industry evidently targets those who can least afford to gamble, with more betting shops and activity prevalent in the poorest areas of the borough.
Haringey was the first borough in the UK to develop a policy banning the advertising of High Fat, Salt and Sugar food and drink across its advertising channels, with many having followed suit in recent times. By joining the coalition to stop gambling advertising, once again this pioneering council is taking a stand to protect its communities and it is hoped that other boroughs will also sign up to the coalition.