One of the reasons for the intense regulation of online gambling in the last five years or so is problem gambling. Whether online gambling has societal harms and if so then to what extent are questions that have not yet been completely answered, despite the tremendous resources expended. The latest Gambling Commission-backed report on this subject claims that “significant progress” has been made in understanding the causes of problem gambling, but it is “very much work in process”.

The report titled ‘Measuring gambling-related harms: A framework for action’ was compiled by Dr Heather Wardle on behalf of the Responsible Gambling Strategy Board (RGSB), which provides independent advice to the United Kingdom Gambling Commission. The issue has been the scientific quantification of the outcomes of problem gambling. Without that it becomes impossible to judge the impact online gambling on society. The report identifies a number of key criteria that can result from compulsive gambling. These include job losses, bankruptcy, crimes committed, marriage breakdowns and suicide attempts. These are the more easily measurable factors. The report points out that the challenge is how to value the criteria with less tangible outcomes, but which are nonetheless have an impact on the social and economic life. Such factors include loss of life opportunities, loss of family or community support and cohesion.

Gambling Commission chief executive Neil McArthur stated that the report did not portray a definitive position. He said that the Commission would collate relevant data and would welcome inputs from interested and competent agencies. McArthur, the new CEO, added, “We encourage public health officials, academics, the industry and the public to feed back on the report and work with us to set a framework that can help prevent harm to consumers.” Quantification is also important. Going forward, it will be important to identify the most effective way to estimate the social cost of gambling-related harms. One of the issues that the report averred with certainty was that online gambling is not something that affects just a few players but extends beyond them to their families, communities and even to society as a whole.

Experts working in the field of problem gambling will be able to take this report as a launching pad. It has been recommended to rope in experts in diverse fields like questionnaire design, data collection and health economics. The next steps would be to implement the pilot projects required and refine the data collected.