Bookmaking Offices, Amusement Centres and Health/Gambling Impacts

The personal impacts of a bookmaking office, amusement centre and bingo hall can include exacerbating mental health problems and enabling gambling addictions. The Northern Irish Gambling Prevalence Survey 2016 highlighted that the region has a gambling participation rate of 67.2%, which is comparable to Scotland (67.8%) but higher than England (62%) and Wales (61.3%). Betting on an event or sport was one of the most common forms of gambling that people participated in (22.8%); with 95.2% of gamblers participating in gambling in person in the year preceding the survey. Most respondents (86.1%) from the 2016 survey were considered to be 'non-problem gamblers' based on their Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) score. However, almost one in 14 respondents were considered to be either a 'moderate risk gambler' (4.9%) or 'problem gambler' (2.3%). Compared to other regions of the United Kingdom, the survey emphasised that the proportion of the population found to be 'problem gamblers' is higher in Northern Ireland (2.3%) than in Wales (1.1%), Scotland (0.7%) and England (0.5%). A report produced for the London Borough of Southwark in 2014 concluded that there is a reasonable body of scientific evidence that shows access to gambling venues (including betting shops) leads to increased gambling behaviour and that this, in turn, is associated with poor health outcomes. The characteristics that often facilitate and encourage people to gamble in the first place are primarily features of the environment, such as the location of the gambling venue and the number of venues in a specified area. These variables may be important in both the initial decision to gamble and the maintenance of the behaviour. Problem gamblers are more likely to experience adverse financial, social and health impacts due to increased debts, anxiety and other harms. In addition, problem gambling not only impacts the affected individuals, but indirectly affects their families and wider communities.