Publisher Health

Football clubs should think about the impact on fans when accepting sponsorships from gambling firms, the head of NHS England has said.

Amanda Pritchard said the deals send a message to children that gambling was OK.

Her comments came after the news that the NHS is nearly doubling the number of gambling addiction clinics to 15 after a record number of referrals.

Some 1,389 patients were referred for gambling support in 2022-23.

This is up from 775 two years prior.

Seven new facilities are to be opened this summer on top of the eight already open.

Speaking on the BBC Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg show, Ms Pritchard described severe gambling addiction as a “cruel disease” and a “life destroyer”.

“It would be really great to see the gambling industry, and also organisations like football clubs, really think seriously about their responsibilities here,” she said.

Shirt sponsorship deals mean “that it’s kids that are seeing every day now messages that say gambling is OK”, she says.

She also highlighted the fact people can bet every hour of the day on their mobile phones, leading to a “really significant increase” in demand for NHS gambling addiction services.

In a separate statement to announce the new clinics, Ms Pritchard said children and adults were being “bombarded” with gambling adverts.

The NHS announcement follows a coroner’s verdict on Thursday that one betting firm could have done more to help a gambler who took his own life in 2021 after amassing huge debts.

The company in question, Betfair, said it had met all the regulatory standards which were in place at the time, but conceded in hindsight that it should have done more.

Meanwhile, a campaign group this week urged the UK government to “step in” after three Premier League clubs announced new shirt sponsorship deals with betting firms.

When the full set of 15 NHS facilities are open across England, the health service hopes to be able to treat 3,000 patients a year, using techniques such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).

The seven new clinics are in Blackpool, Bristol, Derby, Liverpool, Milton Keynes, Sheffield, and Thurrock in Essex.

These are in addition to others already running in London, Leeds, Newcastle, Manchester, Southampton, Stoke-on-Trent and Telford.

An eighth clinic in London exists to treat not only gambling but also gaming addiction in children and young people.

Public health minister Neil O’Brien said the government had set out plans to tackle gambling, including a commitment to introduce a statutory levy so gambling companies pay their “fair share” towards treatment services.

The publication of the government’s white paper in April marked the biggest shake-up of regulation in the sector since the advent of the smartphone.

Among the measures proposed were a stake limit of £2 on online slot machines for young gamblers – but campaigners attacked a lack of action on adverts.

The new addiction facilities were described as “heartening” by the charity Gambling with Lives, whose strategy director Will Prochaska said the clinics “couldn’t come at a more pertinent moment, whilst gambling advertising lures more people into harm”.

The announcement was also welcomed by Matt Zarb-Cousin, the director of Clean Up Gambling, who said the current business model was built on “harm”.

The Lib Dems said news of record addiction referrals showed the Conservatives were not doing enough to protect gamblers.

“Far too many people are suffering from gambling harms,” said health spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP, accusing the government of “dragging their feet” on the issue.

“These new figures must be a wake-up call to ministers to stop dithering and act now, before more lives are ruined.”

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article you can visit the BBC’s Action Line for information and support.