Queries raised regarding Northern Ireland’s gambling support infrastructure

(AsiaGameHub) –   Policymakers are facing growing calls to rethink Northern Ireland’s problem gambling support system as the rest of the UK undergoes a major overhaul.

At a recent roundtable held by the Assembly All Party Group on Reducing Harm Related to Gambling (APPG RHRG), Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) met with healthcare experts and Stormont officials to evaluate how Northern Ireland plans to tackle problem gambling.

A key topic of conversation was the disparity in problem gambling support between Northern Ireland and other UK regions: England has 15 dedicated problem gambling support hubs, while Wales is set to launch a specialised treatment service later this week.

Scotland also lacks NHS clinics for this issue, but that may soon shift as Public Health Scotland and a large NHS entity are poised to receive millions in statutory levy funding. Northern Ireland, though, has not yet put any similar measures in place, and there are no specialised centers offering multidisciplinary care for problem gambling anywhere in the region.

The push for a new approach to gambling harm services coincides with increasing pressure to classify problem gambling in Northern Ireland as a national public health issue. The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency estimates, using the PGSI score, that 3% of adults are at-risk gamblers.

A major point of emphasis was the absence of a cohesive support system to effectively assist those harmed by gambling, contrasted sharply with other UK areas that have specialised clinics staffed by qualified experts to accept and treat patients.

The call for an updated strategy for gambling harm services comes as pressure grows to designate gambling in Northern Ireland as a national public health priority. The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, using the PGSI score, estimates 3% of adults are at-risk gamblers.

As local publication Business First reported, Philip McGuigan MLA – Chair of the All Party Group on Reducing Harm Related to Gambling and Stormont’s Health Committee – stated: “The All Party Group has repeatedly advocated for gambling to be treated as a public health priority, with cross-party backing strengthened by an Assembly motion approved in January 2025.

“A core part of these proposals is an industry-funded levy on gambling operators. Although there’s legislation to impose a levy on land-based operators in Northern Ireland, implementation is still in its early phases – and it wouldn’t cover online firms due to outdated regulations.

“This differs from Britain, where a statutory levy launched in April 2025 is projected to generate almost £120 million each year. The funds are split between research (20%), prevention (30%), and treatment (50%).”

Can action follow the stats?

In 2025, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) released a research paper with guidelines for the government to implement – including a new gambling harm levy – which the Northern Ireland Department of Health itself endorsed.

But the consensus was that fully adopting the recommendations would be costly and require a total overhaul of Northern Ireland’s gambling framework, needing substantial government investment.

England, Wales, and Scotland – Northern Ireland’s neighbors – introduced a statutory Research, Education, and Treatment (RET) levy last year, required by the 2005 Gambling Act Review White Paper. This levy takes a portion of operators’ gross gambling yield (GGY) to fund treatment services.

But because Northern Ireland has its own gambling rules, creating a similar levy is entirely the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive.

McGuigan concluded: “Online gambling companies don’t pay a levy on bets placed in the North, even though they can advertise and operate here if licensed in Britain. This means they’re essentially operating in an unregulated local market without supporting harm reduction services.

“This is funding that could revolutionize support for people and families harmed by gambling. But right now, there’s no guarantee this money will go to Northern Ireland. Northern Irish policymakers might want to ask if a statutory levy – especially one based on the UK model – is fully suitable here.”

The new model has received some criticism, including from the Gambling Lived Experience Network, and the DCMS has provided a transition grant to help the voluntary sector adapt.