Lord Grade: how we're trying to protect racing while tackling gambling harm

On Thursday the House of Lords Gambling Industry Committee, which is appointed to consider the social and economic impact of the gambling industry, publishes its report, Gambling Harm – Time for Action.

Three hundred thousand people in the UK are problem gamblers, and 55,000 of them are children. For each problem gambler six other people, some two million people, suffer harm such as the break-up of families, loss of employment and loss of homes.

The liberalisation of gambling by the Gambling Act 2005, the universal adoption of smartphones and weak regulation has created ideal conditions for addictive 24/7 gambling. It is against this background that we call for action to reduce problem gambling and gambling-related harm.