Gambling Industry Attacks The Lancet’s Public Health Report

Lancet Report Lists Negative Impacts Of Gambling

The Lancet’s report says gambling causes personal debt, mental health problems, criminal behaviour and unemployment. It says operators use aggressive marketing and cross selling to make their products more addictive and accuses the industry of lobbying to downplay the harms.

Dan Waugh, a partner at Regulus, highlighted that the report is one sided and politically motivated. He says it cherry picks the data to support a predetermined agenda. “An examination of the conduct of the state agencies involved should be undertaken in order to determine how such a critical report was permitted to be published unverified,” Waugh stated.

Too Much Regulation Will Stigmatise Responsible Gambling

Industry says imposing too much regulation will stigmatise responsible gambling and lead to restrictive measures that harm both consumers and providers. They want balanced research and nuanced regulatory changes that address the issues without the unintended consequences. Waugh says other jurisdictions that have taken this approach have sometimes undermined consumer protections and hindered responsible gambling initiatives.

Critics say the report assumes gambling harms are universal and inherent to the industry and ignores the social and economic benefits of regulated gambling. “The researchers did not provide any justifications for these measures and resisted the idea that it might be sensible to conduct small-scale trials before implementation,” Waugh added.

Policymakers Have a Tightrope to Walk

The controversy around The Lancet’s report adds to the ongoing debate on how to address public health issues around gambling.

Policymakers now have to balance consumer protection with the downsides of big industry regulation as gambling companies want constructive dialogue and evidence based solutions.