The NHS is set to cut all ties with the gambling industry for funding for its addiction clinics because of concerns that it may conflict with its work.
Sources close to the negotiation told The Sunday Times that the decision will take effect from the new financial year and comes as the public health service clamps down on gambling.
According to research by the Gambling Commission last year, 40 per cent of bets are placed online, and the pandemic caused gambling habits to surge.
It is estimated that the NHS was given £1.2 million by betting firms via industry-funded charity Gamble Aware in the year to March 2021.
This makes up less than half of the cost to run addiction clinics in London, Leeds, Manchester and Sunderland, as reported by The Times.
An NHS spokeswoman told the paper that there was no final decision about cuts.
However, the move comes against the wider backdrop of cracking down on gambling harms.
GambleAware, which although is independent is largely funded by gambling firms, is set launch its first harms prevention movement specifically targeting women, with the campaign going live tomorrow.
There have been recent calls by campaigners, as well as MPs, to charge bookies a statutory levy of one per cent to be spent on treatment for addiction.
The government is expected to review gambling laws in the spring.
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