One Last Spin is a film about gambling related harms. It has been widely used inn community settings and for professional training. The film has been praised for its high impact and for raising many issues for discussion. It is now free to use and share. Watch it here. Please be aware that the film contains content which may be distressing for some viewers, including several references to suicidal ideation and one dramatised sequence which represents a curtailed intention to take life.

Since the film’s release in 2022 there have been some developments.

It is important to be clear that the Scottish Government does not have devolved powers to regulate gambling which remain in Westminster.

Ronnie Cowan who features in the film was MP for Inverclyde and Vice-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Gambling Related Harm. Ronnie stepped away from his MP role at the 2024 general election. The Gambling Related Harm APPG has been replaced by the Gambling Reform APPG.

When the film was made, despite the government’s repeated indications that it would ‘soon’ publishthe White Paper, a major step towards a new Gambling Act for the digital age, it did not appear until April 2023. It has, since then, led to about 60 consultations but some things have been decided:

• The ‘voluntary levy’ which gambling companies donated to charities which provide support to those suffering from gambling harms is to be replaced by a compulsory levy This will average at 1%, depending on gambling sector, and is set to raise £100 million annually. Some of this will come to Scotland and, presumably, there will be bidding competition between agencies.
• Maximum stakes on online ‘slots’ (which are associated with high levels of harm) are to be set at £5, £2 for under 25s.
• New rules to protect consumers and boost operator transparency include afforability checks.

One notable absence in the White Paper is any attention to gambling industry marketing including advertising and sports sponsorship. This area is highlighted in our film by Ronnie Cowan as in need of urgent attention, and is an important focus of many lived experience organisations campaigning for reform.

We are delighted to host a live performance by Amanda Lehmann at our film event at the Platform, Easterhouse on 17 October.

We are looking forward to screening the film in the Platform’s beautiful auditorium. As usual the screening will be followed with conversation between audience and guest panellists, On this occasion we’ll also be including contributions from the Simon Community‘s drama group and a performance from Amanda Lehmann who is a greatly respected singer, musician and composer on both UK and international circuits.

As many will know, when Amanda learned about gambling harms she felt strongly motivated to write and record a song to accompany the film. She’s been performing it at many of her UK shows and engaging audiences in discussion.

You can see a link to the history of the song and listen to it here where it’s accompanied by a music video kindly produced by COPEScotland.

Amanda’s a highly respected international performer, among the best rated female prog rock singers who enjoys touring with original member of Genesis Steve Hackett and his band, while equally happy to perform with solo acoustic guitar to small audiences. One reviewer called her ‘a true English Rose‘, another referring to her voice as ‘reminiscent of Sally Oldfield, Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush, Tracy Hitchings, Moya Brennan and Maggie Reilly (to name a few).’   Download her bio and some more accolades for live performances here.

We’ve been showing the film at events for health and social care and other third sector staff, and at various community venues. We will shortly be screening it with Glasgow City Council as they continue implementing whole-system approaches to tackling gambling harms – including community awareness raising.

Arts-based initiatives such as music and drama have an important role to play so we are thrilled to have Amanda along. We’ll shortly give details of the contributions from the Simon Community Group for the Platform event, and we’ll confirm details of our keynote panellists.

Tickets are free (16+ only) from the Box Office at Platform or online where you’ll also see more details

Friday 26 May

We had a very busy and very rewarding day sharing ‘One last Spin’ at two venues.

In the morning we were at the Albany, home of GCVS, as part of a day’s training for Simon Community Workers.

With the Simon Community at the Albany

Then a quick dash to sunny Inverkip Hub.

There was a great turnout for the film and brilliant discussion afterwards. Many thanks to staff at the Hub for amazing assistance at their state of the art screening facility.

Panel members at Inverkip ( left to right), Ronnie Cowan, Member of Parliament for Inverclyde; Georgina Charlton, Scotland Reducing Gambling Harm at the Alliance for Health and Social Care; Martin Paterson, Director of The Machine Zone Community Interest Company, Executive Producer of the film and film participant.

It was great to have Tony Franklin with us. Tony is a participant in the film and another Director of The Machine Zone.

We’ve had a busy week showing the film with three great organisations.

We began at a conference about homelessness and gambling with the Simon Community where we met with people from a wide range of sectors, really bringing home to us the number of areas which gambling harms touch upon.

Then to the Women’s Centre Glasgow where again we made some brilliant contacts. We were joined by Kelly Field who’s a key contributor to the film, and who spoke so well about women’s experiences of gambling harms.

Kelly joined us too the next night at Greater Govanhill CIC where the film was followed by a great discussion. Do check out their website – they are an amazing community organisation.

Currently we are involved with sharing the film in Glasgow City as part of a project to address gambling harms there. Many thanks to partners who’ve invited us to share.

Left to right: Steve Watts, Founder of GamFam; Tony Kelly, Founder of Red Card; Martin Paterson, Director of The Machine Zone and Executive Producer of One Last Spin; Ronnie Cowan MP Inverclyde and Vice-Chair All Party Parliamentary Group on Gambling Harms

GREAT DAY AT THE SGEN CONFERENCE, EDINBURGH, 24 NOVEMBER

We enjoyed a great day at the National Storytelling Centre where we were given the opportunity to screen and discuss One Last Spin.

The event was our first ‘live’ one with SGEN. (Check out their new website).

We met so many people doing amazing things, all different but all sharing in a passion to reduce gambling harms. Wonderful to meet folk we’d only known from flat screens, and to meet many new people.

For Adrian, an ardent Liverpool FC fan, there was closure, acceptance and forgiveness in meeting Tony, an ex-pro footballer who once scored a goal at Anfield while playing for Burnley!

Check out the amazing work Steve and his team are doing at GamFam, and Tony at Red Card. Ronnie is unceasing in his work towards clamping down on industry practices and poor regulation which he highlighted powerfully in his keynote address. Martin continues as ever with his energetic focus on reducing gambling harms.

We’re delighted to see the launch today of a music video to accompany Amanda’s beautiful song.

This has been created and produced by Mitch, the guy behind the many amazing videos at COPE Scotland’s website.

COPE has been at the forefront of providing support and advice around mental health and wellbeing in Scotland for decades. They have included attention to distress arising from gambling harms. Amanda wrote and recorded One Last Spin after becoming aware of the extent of the issue and deciding to make her own contribution to raising awareness. The story of the making of the song, how it arose from others’ ideas and work, is a great example of creative confluence – how different streams flow into one river.

So here it is. Sit back and enjoy!

Most sectors that address people’s wellbeing need to be more aware that gambling can be a significant cause of harm for many thousands of people.

The documentary One Last Spin includes the voices of people harmed by gambling, and contributions from an academic, an MP and the previous manager of Scotland Reducing Gambling Harm

Severe harms from gambling may result in addiction, one often called ‘the hidden addiction’ both because it is not easy to spot but also because generally, many support services are not fully aware of its prevalence and impact.

The film will be screened in a variety of settings for different audiences such as this one, but in this post we offer the use of the film for awareness raising and as a resource in training and development for the different sectors of social service provision and other work including:

• Health and Social Care
• Justice system (including prisons, courts, police)
• Education
• Media staff
• Workplace wellbeing
• Mental health and addiction services (where these are taken as outside general health and social care)
• Social work
• Finance and debt support
• Child and young adult welfare
• Sport
• Specific industries (such as music where risks are high)
• Local and national politics
• Local geographically based community groups
• Religious affiliations
• Disadvantaged communities (where risks are much higher)
• Organisations working with specific group identities such as refugees

The list above is indicative and we are precisely aware of the dangers of ‘naming’ a group as a sector or community or an identity as a monolithic ‘block’. Work in different sectors includes work across other sectors.

Using the Film

The film is free of charge and organisations may wish to use it as a resource in their delivery of awareness raising, training and development.

If required and where possible we may be able to provide a film participant from the film to accompany screenings.

Have a look around this website to learn more about the film.

Please Share!

The film has received very positive feedback and we believe its strong impact serves well to raise the human dimension of gambling harm and the wider contexts of gambling in society.

We want as many people as possible to see the film, and would be grateful if you could share this post with colleagues and through your networks.

We had a great online screening event with GamLEARN members in July. A great pleasure to meet such a friendly a vibrant group centred upon sharing and supporting lived experience.

The evening began with an introduction by GamLEARN’s Col Bland, and then the film was introduced by participant and Executive Producer Martin Paterson, followed by the film’s Director, Ross Donald. You can see Martin’s and Ross’s introductions here.

The screening was spoilt a bit by technical glitches but shone through these to meet with great audience responses. (And we think – and certainly hope- that the problems won’t occur again!)

Here are some comments from the audience in discussion after the meeting:

• Thank you to all involved in producing this very impactive film. Having gambled since 9 years old in the 80’s on fruit machines in arcades, through the 90’s and 00’s with FOBT and then still gambled during the online era, something like this would certainly have been of use during these periods and I can’t say it would have stopped me as nobody can know that but I’m positive it will impact others enough to seek out support and save lives.

• I found it helpful hearing stories from affected others . A very powerful film.

• The film presents some really important messages. The different individual slots piece together really well and communicate a difficult and complex issue well.

• It is a brilliant film..full of tremendously clear and moving insights.

• I’m a Mental Health Advocate within the Civil Service and will try to push this film there too. Initially for other advocates but with a hope for wider use.

• Thanks so much to all involved in making this powerful film.

Our Thanks

We are very grateful to GamLEARN for arranging this screening. It’s the sort of event we’d love to repeat and repeat with other groups and organisations.

As One Last Spin continues to pick up awards and great reviews, here’s another from Think Shorts.

A poignant documentary that delves into the world of gambling

Directed by Ross Donald, ‘One Last Spin’ is a short documentary film that delves into the addictive world of gambling. The film takes a harrowing look at the personal stories of former addicts, constructed with a series of interviews and dramatization of their struggles. A poignant watch that doesn’t shy away from revealing the perilous consequences of wagering a bet.

Throughout the entire 30-minute film, we are introduced to several survivors of the addiction, who bravely open up about the devastating consequences it had on their life and those around them. We learn about the effects it had on their mental health, financial security, relationships, career and physical health. The film takes a sombre turn as we learn about a young man’s suicide, amidst the grapple with gambling addiction. Besides the personal stories, the documentary introduces us to dominant members of society who are actively involved in the fight against gambling.

Ross Donald has put together a deeply moving film that will startle the audience from the offset. High praise to the recovering addicts who have turned their lives around, and are now open to sharing their plight in an effort to reduce shame and stigma. Visually, the film is professionally shot with outstanding cinematography (Leon Brehony & Jamie Brown). Sound, music and post-production are equally commendable. A captivating watch. Highly recommended

Following the screening of the film at the Alliance’s Annual Conference last week, Hannah Gunn who organised the event with colleague Georgina Charlton has published some of the feedback so far.

Check out Hannah’s post here.

We repeat our great gratitude to the work of Scotland Reducing Gambling Harm. The feedback about the film we have received in recent months does strongly suggest its great impact and potential for raising awareness about gambling harms.