British gambling companies to be required to reimburse scam victims' losses

According to a recent report by the Howard League, gambling companies in the United Kingdom are planning to be required to pay compensation for losses to victims of gambling-related crimes.

Representatives of the Howard League’s Commission on Crime and Problem Gambling have advocated that victims of gambling-related crimes should receive compensation from gambling companies.

The Howard League is the world’s oldest organization for penal reform. Over the past two years the Commission has investigated the link between crime and problem gamblers. Experts concluded that addicted gamblers often return to financial crimes to continue gambling.

Commission members also said that fines and confiscations applied in such situations “disproportionately affect the families of problem gamblers.” Problem gamblers themselves tend to gamble even more to make up for the consequences of these sanctions.

In this regard, the League’s representatives believe that UK authorities should increase awareness among practicing doctors about treating gambling addiction; create local specialized services for problem gamblers; and introduce methods into the law enforcement system to screen people for gambling addiction.

“Although gambling addiction is a behavioural disorder that can lead to crime, this addiction is not considered a mitigating factor at sentencing, unlike mental health issues, drug addiction or alcoholism”, the Commission said.

Recall that recently several online gambling platforms announced compensation of $1.2m that a British general practitioner stole from a healthcare centre. This concerns 45-year-old Dr Rumi Chhapia, who stole about $1.5m from the organisation Portsmouth Primary Care Alliance Limited (PPCA), which he himself founded. This organisation brought together GPs in the city of Portsmouth and also ran tenders for out-of-hours services.