According to the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (2023) approximately half (48%) of the adult population participates in some form of gambling.
In recent years, harms inflicted by gambling have become an increasing public health concern. They can include financial harms, harms to relationships and harms to health. They can also extend beyond the individuals who gamble and can affect others – especially partners and children – as well as wider family and social networks. Men and young people who gamble are more likely to experience severe and direct harms.
The Institute of Public Care has worked with Wiltshire Council’s Public Health Team to explore the prevalence and awareness of gambling harms from a public health perspective in the county.
Kate Blackburn, Director of Public Health at Wiltshire Council said: “We have been working on a research initiative with the Institute of Public Care to better understand the prevalence of gambling harms in Wiltshire. The findings of this project inform how we can reduce the risk of such harm to people of all ages, their friends, and families in Wiltshire. The recommendations will be taken forward with key stakeholders to improve support and outcomes for those affected.”
The research involved three key activities:
- A desk-based review to identify nationally available intelligence about the prevalence and characteristics of gambling harms.
- A scoping survey of professional stakeholders to capture awareness and perception of the nature and scale of gambling harms in Wiltshire.
- Interviews with professionals to provide a deeper understanding of the scale and distribution of risks across socio-demographic groups, gaps in support, and opportunities for system-wide collaboration in Wiltshire.
Key findings from the scoping survey indicated variable levels of awareness among professional stakeholders about gambling harms. Gambling harms can remain hidden for a long time because of stigma, complex needs with multiple vulnerabilities, and insufficient identification and recording systems.
The stakeholder interviews underscored the demographic vulnerabilities, particularly increased risk among younger males but growing levels of gambling harms among women.
The risk factors for gambling harms identified locally reflect nationally reported evidence and include financial difficulties, mental ill health, and a strong association with substance use.
Recommendations from the review provide useful considerations for other areas looking to develop place-based approaches to address gambling harms:
- Fostering a whole-system approach to gambling harms where every contact counts can support effective identification, signposting, or referrals to appropriate support, including specialist services.
- Information captured from a system-wide collaboration can provide valuable intelligence on the prevalence and characteristics / dynamics of gambling harms locally; local information on gambling harms is not available from other sources. Better understanding of local dynamics is important to help design and implement targeted interventions that respond to local characteristics.
- New and existing communication opportunities can be used to raise awareness of available supports for people affected by gambling harms and help combat stigma to encourage support-seeking in affected groups. This should include targeted communication for groups known to be at increased risk of gambling harms locally.
- Training frontline staff in local services is needed to increase awareness and understanding of the risks, signs, and impact of gambling harms and improve signposting and support.
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