MLAs are to debate a Private Members’ Motion entitled ‘Supporting a Public Health Approach to Tackling Gambling-Related Harms’ at the Northern Ireland Assembly this Tuesday (28 January). It was tabled by members of the All Party Group on Reducing Harm Related to Gambling.
This follows publication of a report with almost 60 recommendations from the findings of a year-long inquiry by the All Party Group (APG) into public health approaches to tackling gambling related harms in Northern Ireland.
The report recognises gambling as a public health issue and calls on NI Executive, Departments, and UK Government to take decisive action in adopting measures to safeguard long-term wellbeing of individuals and communities as up to 200,000 people could be indirectly affected by gambling harm in NI each year.
Philip McGuigan MLA, Chair of the APG, said: “Adopting a public health approach means treating gambling in a similar way to alcohol and tobacco, with policies that focus not just on individual-level harms but also on population-based approaches that prioritise harm prevention. This is because, as with other legal addictive products, the whole population is vulnerable to gambling addiction and harm.”
The motion calls on the Minister of Health to address the current unmet need within the healthcare system in Northern Ireland by commissioning statutory services specifically for gambling disorders; and further calls on all relevant NI Executive Departments to ensure the inquiry report’s recommendations are carefully considered in the development of future policies aimed at preventing and mitigating gambling-related harms.
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