UK NHS to Open Gambling Clinic for Children

The UK’s NHS is going to open its first gambling clinic for children.

According to the Gambling Commission, there are 55,000 children classed as having a gambling problem in Britain. The Commission also found that a total of 450,000 are gambling regularly.

“This action shows just how seriously the NHS takes the threat of gambling addiction, even in young people. 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,” Simon Stevens, the NHS England chief executive said.

The move was welcomed by Carolyn Harris, the Labour MP for Swansea East, who said attitudes around problem gambling was at last shifting. “For too long the industry has dismissed problem gambling but now is the time for polluters to pay,” she said.

“The clinic will open as part of a new network of services for addicts being rolled out as part of the NHS Long Term Plan. Specialist face-to-face NHS treatment for gambling addiction has only been available in London but is being made available across the country as part of the new strategy,” NHS England said.