Southeast Asia News Desk

(AsiaGameHub) –   There’s growing pressure on policymakers to re-evaluate Northern Ireland’s support system for problem gambling, especially as the rest of the UK undergoes a major overhaul of its own.

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 specialists and Stormont representatives to review Northern Ireland’s strategy for tackling 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 centers, while Wales is set to launch a specialized 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 organization are poised to receive millions in statutory levy funds. However, Northern Ireland hasn’t put any similar measures in place—there are no specialized centers offering multidisciplinary care for problem gambling anywhere in the region.

Demands for an updated approach to gambling harm services are emerging as pressure builds to classify problem gambling in Northern Ireland as a national public health issue. The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency estimates that 3% of adults are at-risk gamblers, based on the PGSI score.

A major point of emphasis was the absence of a unified support system to effectively assist those affected by gambling harm, as well as the sharp contrast with other UK areas that have specialized clinics staffed by qualified experts to care for patients.

Calls for a refreshed strategy for gambling harm services are happening as there’s increasing pressure to designate gambling in Northern Ireland as a national public health priority. The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency calculates that 3% of adults are at-risk gamblers, using the PGSI score.

According to local publication Business First, Philip McGuigan MLA—Chair of the All Party Group on Reducing Harm Related to Gambling and Stormont’s Health Committee—commented: “The All Party Group has consistently called for gambling to be treated as a public health priority, with cross-party support reinforced by an Assembly motion passed in January 2025.

“Central to these proposals is the introduction of an industry-funded levy on gambling operators. While legislation exists to introduce a levy on land-based operators here, implementation remains at an early stage and would not apply to online gambling companies due to outdated regulatory frameworks.

“This contrasts with Britain, where a statutory levy introduced in April 2025 is expected to raise nearly £120m annually. Funds are allocated to research (20%), prevention (30%), and treatment (50%).”

Will action match the statistics?

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

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

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

However, since Northern Ireland has its own gambling regulations, creating such a levy falls entirely under the purview of the Northern Ireland Executive.

McGuigan concluded: “Online gambling companies do not pay a levy on bets taken in the North, despite these companies being able to advertise and operate in the region if licensed in Britain. As a result, they are effectively operating in an unregulated market locally without contributing to harm reduction services.

“This is funding that could transform support for individuals and families affected by gambling harms. But there is currently no guarantee it will be allocated to the north.” Northern Irish policymakers may want to question whether a statutory levy, specifically one following the model adopted in other parts of the UK, is entirely appropriate.”

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