Several major banks, including Barclays, HSBC and Monzo, have joined the Gambling Harms Action Lab, an initiative aimed at addressing the financial aspects of problem gambling.

Established by the UK Gambling Commission and the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, the 18-month programme seeks to improve support systems for individuals at risk of gambling-related harm.  The Gambling Harms Action Lab promotes collaboration between financial institutions, allowing them to refine and develop best practices to help affected customers. The programme aligns with the Financial Conduct Authority’s Consumer Duty, introduced in 2023, which mandates that financial firms ensure fair treatment and better outcomes for customers.

“It’s vital that we see cross-sector action to find solutions to these problems. So we’re absolutely delighted by the commitment these seven leading financial services firms have demonstrated to better support customers by coming on board to join our Gambling Harms Action Lab programme,” commented Nikki Bond, head of the Gambling Harms Action Lab, somewhat naively. The notion that banks will act as both honest and compassionate interventionists is simply farcical – few will trust them not to use this data to prey on the customer’s vulnerabilities to their own financial advantage. At the same time, this initiative will almost certainly put the data and knowledge they have gained about their customer into a data protection danger zone.

But hey, Bond thinks the banks will act as a cuddly support service, so that’s OK. She added: “This will provide a space to work together and support each other in overcoming these shared challenges. We will work with firms to ensure they build on their existing knowledge base and develop improved solutions that work for their customers experiencing gambling harms.”

Yeah, right – ask the thousands of people made homeless by the banks who are repossessing family homes at record rates how their mental health has been impacted by the banks?