Samaritans offers suicide prevention guidelines for gambling businesses

Research was conducted through consultations with relevant stakeholders, people with personal experience, and other health professionals within the gambling industry.

Recommendations include having a dedicated suicide prevention policy to safeguard customers and staff, advice on how to use harm prevention to aid marketing communications, how to interpret data to help prevent suicide and how to communicate sensitively with customers in need.  

Samaritans’ head of policy Mubeen Bhutta said: “Suicide is preventable and we know different industries need to address specific challenges in order to have effective suicide prevention practices in place. With a clear association between gambling and suicide, identifying the changes needed in the gambling environment to prevent suicide is a vital part of our work.

“We’re proud to publish these industry guidelines and look forward to seeing all gambling businesses engage with them in a proactive effort to do more to prevent gambling-related suicide.”