NHS England Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard Calls for Action on Crypto Trading Addiction (Image: Ian Davidson / Alamy)

It is not only land-based casinos that are coming under the scrutiny of extremely tough regulations in the UK to tackle the harms caused by gambling. 

Now the boss of the NHS UK, Amanda Pritchard, is calling for lawmakers to take action to address the issue of addiction to crypto trading, particularly among young people.  

Earlier in 2024, the NHS opened its fifteenth specialist gambling addiction clinic.  Statements made by the NHS boss include concerns over the increased opportunities available for young people to gamble.  

During her speech, the CEO said: “In 1948, betting shops were still illegal. Fast forward to earlier this year. The NHS opened the fifteenth specialist centre for gambling addiction, responding to a real and growing social need. The NHS can and will help.” 

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Unable to Tackle the Problem Alone 

"We can’t solve this alone. As a society, we need to ask, are we ok to just continue picking up the pieces while the methods employed to keep people hooked get ever more sophisticated and evermore opportunities spring up for younger people to get addicted to gambling, including as I heard from staff when I visited the national problem gambling clinic earlier this year on unregulated crypto currency markets. 

Will we tackle the problems at source or do we accept the NHS becomes and expensive safety net.”  

CEO of NHS Confederation Responds to Speech 

Responding to NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard’s speech at ConfedExpo 2024 in Manchester Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said:  

“Amanda is right to highlight that we need to decide what kind of society, and therefore what kind of NHS, we want. Do we keep just providing very expensive treatments to preventable problems or make an effort to tackle the sources of these issues head on?" - said Taylor.

“Since the NHS was founded, a number of simple changes to improve people’s health have already been made, such as removing lead from petrol and banning smoking in public places."

"Diabetes, obesity, and gambling, including on unregulated cryptocurrency markets, are issues that, if tackled, can have a huge impact on improving people’s health and take some of the strain off the NHS."

“That is why we have been calling on whichever party forms the next government to commit to a cross-government health improvement mission to work towards building a healthier nation. 

This should focus on promoting health and wellbeing, reducing inequalities, tackling the wider determinants of health and supporting the public to be active partners in their own health. Part of this must look at tackling preventable health problems caused by issues such as smoking, obesity and problem gambling.” 

What Is Cryptocurrency? 

Cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin (BTC), may be something of an enigma to many people but for some, the appeal of it not being under the control of a bank or mint is attractive enough for them to purchase and use wherever they are accepted.  

BTC is an appealing option for online transactions, including gambling. 

Accepted by online betting sites or crypto casinos, they offer instant down payments and withdrawals. There is also an element of anonymity.  

The growth of Bitcoin gambling, which offers a collection of gambling activities, including casino games, sports betting, and poker, mirrors the services provided by traditional online casinos. 

Main differences and advantages to land-based casinos include:

• integrating blockchain technology 
• enhanced security 
• transparency 
• anonymity for users 
• fair gaming 
• Instant Withdrawals and Deposits 
• Global Access to Online Crypto Casinos  

New Law Could Be a Game-Changer for Crypto Gambling Sites

A bill bringing cryptocurrencies under the same rules applied to traditional assets is to pass into law in the United Kingdom as it reaches the final stages for King Charles’ royal assent on June 29th.