Gambling Addiction

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 2:53 pm on 3 July 2019.

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Photo of Darren Millar Darren Millar Conservative 2:53, 3 July 2019

I welcome the action that's been taken to date but, of course, we can always do more, and I would absolutely want to see some more of the investment from the gambling industry, via the Gambling Commission, coming into Wales in order to develop our services and treatment centres for those with addictions. I hosted the annual conference with Beat the Odds last week on problem gambling, and it was focusing very much on young people and children in that particular forum this year. Can I ask what specific services might be available for children and young people who are actively now gambling through the gaming system online in games such as Star Wars and FIFA, where they have these sorts of loop boxes that give very, very terrible odds, and they're actually resulting in some young children gambling many thousands and losing many thousands of pounds of their family's income? I think it's a growing feature of the gambling landscape. It's something that now Disney is even cottoning on to. That's unacceptable. We need to get to grips with these issues. Can I ask whether there are going to be tailored services for children and young people within the ambit of the services that are being prepared and developed by the Welsh Government and, if so, how are we going to communicate the availability of those and the dangers of gambling to young people in our society?