Betting nearly destroyed me. The industry must not be allowed to water down online gambling reform

theguardian.com:

T hirteen years ago, I was suicidal. I remember overwhelming feelings of guilt, and a loss of agency. I no longer felt in control of my own life, and while I had racked up significant debts that took many years to repay, it wasn’t just a gradual loss of money that led to a collapse in my mental health. It was what gambling had done to my brain.

I had been sucked in to fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs), which until 2019 permitted stakes of up to £100 a spin in betting shops. The rapid event frequency, high stakes and addictive roulette content were the factors that brought on a form of psychological dependence. My suicidal ideation came not because of the amount of money I had lost, but because I didn’t have access to any more money to gamble with. I could no longer escape from the problems gambling itself had created.

I am fortunate to have not taken my own life, and to have repaired the damage my addiction caused to me and to others. But many are not so lucky. Public Health England estimates there is one gambling-related suicide every day, with the mental health consequences worsened by a stigmatising “responsible gambling” narrative that diverts the blame for addiction away from harmful gambling industry products and practices, instead locating it solely with the individual.

So the reforms announced to online gambling regulation by the culture secretary, Lucy Frazer, are long overdue. It is a sector that currently generates 86% of its profit from the 5% of gamblers who are addicted or at risk, and has been subject to a government review since December 2020. In that time, online gambling firms have raked in £13bn from punters. So while the gambling white paper represents a big step forward in many areas, it’s