Safeguarding gambling industry staff is overdue and needs to become a priority

Sarah Ramanauskas is a senior partner at Gambling Integrity, a team of experts helping operators focus on safer gambling. Here she talks to Matt Blanks, project manager for Peer Aid at Betknowmore, about problem gambling among workers in the betting and gaming industries.

The risk of addiction

Studies from around the world consistently show workers in the gambling industry are at high risk of gambling addiction. An Australian study of staff in Queensland's clubs and casinos discovered problem gambling rates among staff at almost ten times times that of the general population.

In Britain and Ireland many gambling operators fail to recognise the risks their staff face and often have a culture of acceptance of risky gambling. Matt Blanks understands well the difficulties of working in the gambling industry as he spent 16 years working in betting shops while suffering from addiction. He rose to the level of area manager at a major retail bookmaker, with significant responsibilities for shops and staff. During those years he lost around £700,000.

Matt, did any of your managers ever try to help with your gambling problem?

No, never. Everyone knew I gambled but no-one knew the extent. I was good at hiding the difficulties I was in. Even though it was obvious I was gambling way more than I could afford on my shop wages, no-one ever questioned it.

Why do you think your gambling went unchallenged for so long?
Working in the shops, everyone has a laugh. There's a lot of banter, you're talking about betting all day long, so it's just part of the job. You build up good friendships with your pals in your shop and other shops, so no-one wants to pour cold water on that. It's pretty obvious, on a retail salary, that you can't afford to be betting large sums every day, but it's just accepted. It's part of the culture.

Did you ever speak to a member of staff you were responsible for, if you thought they were gambling too much?
No, I didn't, and looking back now, with what I know about gambling addiction, I think that was wrong. But, it's too often felt by staff that if it's known they have a gambling problem they'll lose their job. There was nothing I could use in my management role to assure my staff they wouldn't just be turfed out if they admitted to a problem. Also, you assume that working in a shop a staff member knows about self-exclusion and the gambling help services so will know how to get help. I now know that without some kind of intervention most people don't seek help until they've reached a crisis point. It shouldn't need to get to that point.

Most operators don't allow their staff to gamble with them, which means shop staff just gamble with their competitors. At Gambling Integrity, we advise online operators that staff should be allowed to have accounts, so they can benefit from the behavioural monitoring and responsible gambling tools that are used by customers. What's your view on this?
I agree shop staff should not be allowed to gamble in the shop – that would just lead to chaos. There's too much temptation to gamble and you could end up going down a dark route. For online though, I think it's different as you're not playing with cash, your account is monitored and you can easily self-exclude or use Gamstop without everyone knowing about it.

What do you think needs to change, to better protect people working in the industry?
The interview process needs to include questions about whether people bet or gamble, not just whether they are interested in sport. And, on the job, staff should not be actively encouraged to gamble. For example, at the moment you have to learn the new games on the betting terminals, playing them in demo mode, which can be a temptation to someone at risk.

There needs to be a safe way for people to talk about their gambling or raise concerns about a colleague. Make it clear that this does not put your job at risk. Also, there should be support processes to get out of the industry, get a different job and recover, if that's what's needed.

The way forward

This story comes with a positive ending as Matt is now working with Gamcare on new community initiatives to prevent gambling harm in his role as Peer Aid project manager at Betknowmore.

In the view of Gambling Integrity, the gambling industry needs to make significant changes to its culture, its hiring practices and its employee-support services in order to better protect its employees from the harms associated with gambling addiction.

National Gambling Helpline: 0808 8020 133

betknowmoreuk.org

More articles on Responsible Gambling:

'I was working all hours but had no money. Just gambling to extinction'

Is the 10.30 at Mysore the bookies' idea of responsible gambling?

Regulator tells operators to believe in better responsible gambling or quit

If you are concerned about your gambling and are worried you may have a problem, click here to find advice on how you can receive help