by Ryan D. Jaeger
New plans have been unveiled by the Responsible Gambling Strategy Board
(RGSB) to commission a national telephone gambling helpline to the tune of £1
million.
The plans have GamCare, the UK advice and counseling charity worried
that it will have its own funding slashed.
The Chief Executive of GamCare, Andy McLellan said that there was no sense in
creating a new hotline when a very effective one was already in place.
McLellan pointed out that GamCare's helpline number is already displayed on
over 250,000 gambling games across the United Kingdom.
The number also appears on websites and is printed in leaflets.
"We are also concerned that the RSGB thinks the helpline should be separated
from treatment provision, when in fact our helpline is the first line of
treatment," he said.
GamCare's helpline costs £800,000 to run each year. It receives its
funding from money raised by the GREAT Foundation (Gambling Responsibility,
Education and Treatment).
GamCare said that its fund allocation was lower this year, meaning that the
organization needed to halt plans and cut back on marketing.
The RGSB has found no fault in the services offered by GamCare but it is said
to be unsatisfied with the major proportion of funding received by the group.
The RSGB, under the chairmanship of Baroness Julia Neuberger, also has plans
to spend £50K developing the Gamble Aware website, despite that fact that
none of the 332,000 visitors who came to GamCare's site did so through Gamble
Aware.
GamCare has expressed an interest in running a national phone line for
problem gambling in cooperation with the RGSB.
