Blackpool Council to support gambling addiction

Gambling addiction is so bad for some Blackpool residents that it has led them to consider suicide, a new report has warned.

One person from the Lancashire town told investigators it was “terrifying” how you could get into so much debt and get “so low” that you thought about taking your own life.

Blackpool Council has agreed a four-year gambling harm strategy to tackle the problem which experts say has an impact on every aspect of a person’s life , including your health and relationships.

Presenting the strategy at a meeting of Blackpool Health and Wellbeing Council, public health professional Helen Cook said it was important to make sure people were fully aware of the harm gambling can do.

Mrs Cook said: “It can affect people from all walks of life.

“I have spoken to footballers who have been successful but lost all their money, and unemployed people who have lost all their money.

“For some people, gambling can destroy their lives.”

Citizens Advice in Blackpool saw a 28% rise in gambling-related harm for under-25s in 2022, the report found, while the figure for gambling-related harm across all adults doubled between 2019 and 2022.

The charity estimates that a quarter of all its clients who come for debt advice would cite gambling as the reason for their financial difficulties.

The report added: “Recoveries in Blackpool who spoke about their experiences described gambling as something they could abstain from for a few weeks but would easily fall back into the compulsion to do another bet and they convinced themselves it would be just one more bet, ending up with feelings of guilt, shame and anxiety.”

The support already available in Blackpool includes dedicated gambling support workers as part of the Empowerment charity’s The Lived Experience Team.

Help is also available from the Beacon Counseling Trust, which is responsible through GambleAware for providing online individual and group support.

Support sources are also available through BBC action line.