UK NHS Chief Demands Action to Protect Youth from Crypto Trading Addiction

Amanda Pritchard urged British lawmakers to take some actions to prohibit the country’s young people from getting addicted to crypto.

The UK has a balanced approach to cryptocurrency, supporting innovation while implementing regulations to ensure consumer protection and market integrity. As a global financial hub, it has a significant interest in cryptocurrencies but remains cautious about risks like fraud and market volatility. 

On 12 June 2024, During a speech at the ConfedExpo of NHS managers in Manchester, Amanda Pritchard highlighted that earlier this year, the NHS launched its fifteenth specialist gambling addiction clinic to address “a real and growing social need.”

Amanda questioned whether society should continue merely addressing the consequences of crypto addiction rather than tackling its root causes. She raised concerns about the increasing sophistication of methods used to hook people, particularly the youth, into gambling and unregulated cryptocurrency markets. 

Amanda suggested that without proactive measures, more young people will fall prey to these addictive practices, emphasising the need for stronger regulations and strict actions to protect citizens, especially the younger population, from the risks associated with gambling and crypto trading.

UK & strict crypto laws 

However Crypto companies operate their services under the UK’s highly restricted rules & laws but the majority of the crypto executives are not happy with that. Even those crypto entrepreneurs who are not living in the UK’s jurisdiction also think that rules should be highly crypto-friendly so that competition among crypto companies can be increased. 

Regulatory bodies like the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) oversee crypto activities to prevent financial harm, especially among young and inexperienced investors. Laws under the jurisdiction of the UK are very strict for crypto companies & it makes it difficult for new crypto companies to get regulatory authority to provide crypto services for the UK-based crypto traders. 

In June 2023, King Charles approved a Crypto dedicated bill to regulate the crypto sector under the same rules as other financial services but in July 2023 the U.K. the Treasury rejected the proposal & called cryptocurrencies a gambling assets and also labelled crypto trading a type of gambling activity.

Read also: World famous financial guru says “Bitcoin is the easiest way to become a millionaire”