GambleAware: Nearly half of problem gamblers fail to access treatment
Additional YouGov survey suggests up to 1.4m people in the UK are problem gamblers
Nearly half of all problem gamblers in the UK have not accessed treatment or support within the last 12 months, according to new research from GambleAware.
According to the safer gambling charity, 46% of gamblers have failed to use some type of treatment, while the report also highlights several barriers to access which exacerbate the issue.
The social stigma surrounding gambling and lack of awareness both counted as significant hurdles for problem gamblers, while 17% of problem gamblers maintained their gambling was not harmful, which highlights a reluctance to admit to their difficulties.
The research included a separate YouGov survey which found that between 54% and 61% of the population had gambled in the past 12 months and up to 2.7% of the population could be considered problems gamblers – a far greater percentage than in previous estimates.
This translates to nearly 1.4 million people potentially earmarked as problem gamblers, although professor Patrick Sturgis noted that the true number of problem gamblers was likely to be closer to the 0.7% figure gleaned from the Combined Health Survey in 2016.
Today we've published the first ever gambling Treatment Needs and Gap Analysis report, which has found that nearly half of all people with gambling problems have not accessed treatment or support within the last 12 months: https://t.co/NpRGwUJ2T7 @NatCen
— GambleAware (@GambleAware) May 19, 2020
Sturgis said: “It is impossible to say with certainty which of the two surveys comes closest to the true level of gambling harm in the general population.
“However, after studying and comparing the two survey designs at length, it seems likely that the true rate of gambling harm lies somewhere between the two, though it is probably closer to the Combined Health Survey’s estimate of 0.7% than to the YouGov estimate of 2.7.”
The report found that sex, race, and class were all deemed factors in an individual adequately accessing treatment.
Women gamblers were found to be three times more likely than their male counterparts to point to barriers such as “cost, time or location” as reasons for not accessing treatment.
It was found that while those from the BAME community were less likely to participate in gambling, those that did so were more likely to be problem gamblers.
Elsewhere, 17% of those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds said that “nothing would motivate them to seek support” regarding problem gambling.
The impact of gambling on families and loved ones was also highlighted, with 7% of the population reporting themselves as an ‘affected other’ of problem gambling.
The knock-on impact saw 20% of these ‘affected others’ reported experiencing gambling harm themselves. Once again, a lack of treatment and awareness of said treatment was pinpointed as a mitigating factor.
Marc Etches
GambleAware CEO Marc Etches said the report highlights the need for flexibility and interchangeability when offering support.
“This research has shown that there is a clear need to further strengthen and improve the existing treatment and support on offer, to develop routes into treatment and to reduce barriers to accessing help,” said Etches.
“Services have to be flexible to meet the needs of individuals and easy to access. This research shows how the need for support and the way it is accessed may vary according to gender and demographic factors such as ethnic group, location or whether a person has additional health needs,” he added.
Dr Sokratis Dinos, research director at the National Centre for Social Research, noted that developing public messaging about gambling disorders would help support those in need.
Dinos said: “A recurrent theme across this programme of studies was related to a lack of awareness of, or hesitation to accept, that gambling behaviour may be harmful.
“Continuing to develop education programmes and public messaging about the way gambling disorder is perceived … [would] contribute towards reducing barriers to seeking treatment and support,” he added.
GambleAware reported a record £10.05m in funding from UK operators during 2019/2020, the largest annual funding figure received in the charity’s history.