Seven Financial Firms Join the Efforts to Stop Problem Gambling in the UK

The Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, a charity organization founded by Martin Lewis, has unveiled a roster of financial services firms that will make up its new Gambling Harms Action Lab. In this position, the organizations will help the institute enhance support for gamblers experiencing harm.

The Financial Services That Will Make Up the Action Lab Have Been Revealed

According to the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, the Gambling Harms Action Lab will be comprised of the following seven organizations:

• Barclays
• first direct
• HSBC UK
• Monzo
• Starling
• Virgin Money
• Nationwide

For a period of eighteen months, the seven organizations will join forces to address gambling harm and improve support for British players who are experiencing it. The announcement elaborated that the Gambling Harms Action Lab will be funded from a regulatory settlement approved by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC).

This initiative comes in the wake of the concerning findings of the UKGC’s recent studies, which determined that roughly 2.5% of Brits were experiencing harm. The study noted that 3.7% were at moderate risk and another 8.3% were at low risk of problem gambling.

The study further noted that 58% of respondents who were experiencing harm had not accessed any support services in the past 12 months.

The Firms Will Team Up to Explore New Approaches and Tools

The core idea behind the Gambling Harms Action Lab is to leverage financial firms’ knowledge of finance to identify and address harm. The seven firms that have joined the program have committed to exploring new approaches and tools to help those struggling with problem gambling.

The seven firms will collaborate with the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute. The shared responsibility and collaboration will allow the endeavor to uncover efficient methods to address harm and improve support.

The Money and Mental Health’s Research Community of lived experience people will further underpin the development of new tools.

Their first Gambling Harms Action Lab meeting is set to take place later this month.

Cross-Sector Action Is Needed

Nikki Bond, head of the Gambling Harms Action Lab at the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, emphasized that the proliferation of gambling harm necessitates cross-sector action.

So we’re absolutely delighted by the commitment these seven leading financial services firms have demonstrated to better support customers by coming on board to join our Gambling Harms Action Lab programme.

Nikki Bond, head of the Gambling Harms Action Lab, Money and Mental Health Policy Institute

Bond added that the initiative will provide finance firms with opportunities to work together and overcome the shared challenges posed by problem gambling.

Tim Miller, executive director of the UKGC, reiterated his repeated calls for greater sector collaboration in tackling problem gambling and gambling-related crime. While he admitted that financial services are not the cause of harm, they have a unique role they can play as part of the solution.

Miller said: “We are not alone in that thinking – the commitment from current account providers to the Gambling Harms Action Lab is testament to that. We would like to say thank you to firms for agreeing to support this important programme of work.”