UK Gambling Harm Becomes Public-Health Crisis

In 2025, gambling harm became impossible to ignore across the UK. Councils from Sunderland

to Brent, Liverpool and Southampton warned that thousands of residents are at risk.

Local leaders highlighted growing concerns about online gambling, young people, and the lack of

clear local powers to prevent harm. Many councils called for urgent reform and stronger action.

In Westminster, MPs from all parties described gambling harm as a public-health crisis.

Parliamentary committees examined links to mental health, suicide, inequality and addiction,

urging the Government to act faster and more decisively. Gambling harm was increasingly framed

as a systemic issue — not individual failure. 2025 also brought major policy shifts.