NHS to open England first gambling clinic for children

England’s National Health Service (NHS) will launch in Sunderland its first gambling clinic for children later this year as part of a new network of services for addicts.

The clinic will be tailored towards supporting those between the ages of 13 and 25. Specialist face-to-face NHS treatment for gambling addiction has so far only been available in London, but NHS plans to launch a total of 14 gambling harm-specific clinics across the UK, developed with the aim of identifying and tackling problem gambling behaviours’ amongst younger individuals.

“The links between problem gambling and stress, depression and mental health problems are growing and there are too many stories of lives lost and families destroyed. This action shows just how seriously the NHS takes the threat of gambling addiction, even in young people, but we need to be clear – tackling mental ill health caused by addiction is everyone’s responsibility – especially those firms that directly contribute to the problem,” explained NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens.

Stevens has also stated that UK licensed betting operators should compulsory fund the treatment of problem gambling networks across the UK.

“This is an industry that splashes £1.5billion on marketing and advertising campaigns, much of it now pumped out online and through social media, but it has been spending just a fraction of that helping customers deal with the direct consequences of addiction.”

Specialists estimate that over 450,000 11-to-16-year-olds’ gamble regularly, with underage addiction quadrupling to 55,000 in the past two years.