Gambling on Debate
Resolution for a New Year – Listen without Prejudice
Dan Waugh argues that reform of the gambling industry is being pushed through without debate – and this is to the detriment of all involved.
“Rule 9 – Assume that the person you are listening to might know something you don’t”
Jordan B. Peterson (’12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos’)
One of the least edifying aspects of the debate on gambling reform in Britain is the conspicuous absence of just that – debate. Protagonists of all hues eschew evidence-driven, constructive, and collaborative problem-solving, preferring instead blind promulgation of ideology or the promotion or defence of vested interest. Instead of intelligent debate – the open-minded exchange of ideas, information, and perspective – public discourse commonly descends to the level of ‘sledging’. Vitriol and confusion are set up in the place of tolerance and clarity. In consequence of this, there is a very real possibility that attempts to place the regulation of the gambling market on a more sustainable footing will result in negative and unsustainable outcomes.
When the British Government launched its review of the Gambling Act in December 2019, it triggered a predictable boom in the collection (and sometimes manufacture) of evidence. Over the course of the last two years, reports funded by vested interests in the industry have been submitted by NERA (National Economic Research Associates) Economic Consulting, the Social Market Foundation, the Centre for Social Justice, Ernst and Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Gambling-Related Harm All-Party Parliamentary Group. In addition, publicly-funded (but not necessarily unbiased) reviews have been published by Public Health England, the National Institute of Health Research, the House of Lords Select Committee on the Gambling Industry, the Gambling Commission, the Public Accounts Committee and the National Audit Office. Scores of researchers have attempted to influence legislative outcomes (almost uniformly in a single direction) through agenda-driven studies and journal articles. Thousands of parties have submitted opinion pieces and evidence to public consultations on matters of regulatory reform.
Photo by Hush Naidoo Jade Photography on Unsplash.
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