Strategy
National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms 2019 to 2022
The sole aim of this three-year (2019 to 2022) National Strategy was to move faster and go further to reduce gambling harms.
Overview
The National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms was launched in April 2019 and ran until April 2022. The content and actions in these pages refer to programmes of activity to reduce gambling harms during that time.
Developing truly national treatment and support options includes availability of the right support, in the right place at the right time.
It means making treatment more accessible and relevant to those who need it, improving existing commissioning and oversight arrangements, improving care pathways via primary and social care, and support for those who have other mental health issues alongside experiencing gambling harms.
The aim is to make significant progress towards an effectively commissioned, comprehensive national treatment and support offer that meets the needs of current and future service users. There are a limited number of services available for people who are experiencing harm from gambling.
These are restricted in terms of funding, geographical coverage and reach, compared proportionately to that of other addictions, though waiting lists for access to these services are relatively short.
We welcome the commitment in the NHS England Long Term Plan (opens in a new tab), and the progress being made to develop in partnership with the Northern Gambling Clinic and Leeds Support Hub (the second NHS-hosted clinic commissioned and funded by GambleAware).
There is a discrepancy between the numbers of people experiencing harm and might be assumed to be receptive to treatment, and the numbers of people we know are currently accessing some form of formal treatment or support.
There are around 2 million adults who may be experiencing some level of harm from their gambling, including 340,000 people who are classified as problem gamblers in Great Britain, as found in the Gambling behaviour in great Britain report (PDF). A significant number who may benefit from treatment or support may either not be aware of the options, or are not accessing those options.
The majority of specialist services for those affected by gambling harms in Great Britain is currently commissioned and funded via GambleAware. GambleAware seeks to commission treatment for problem gambling across England, Scotland and Wales, free at the point of delivery.
This charity receives the bulk of its funds from industry donations which are made as a licence condition to provide funding to support research, prevention and treatment. The amounts and the recipients of these voluntary contributions are not specified, and therefore uncertain. This arrangement is often referred to as ‘the voluntary arrangements’.
Based on the data available, in 2017 and 2018 around 8,800 people received treatment through GambleAware-funded services, and the national helpline received 30,000 calls. It is unknown how many people receive support through networks such as Gamblers Anonymous, or through smaller charitable or community support groups.
This figure is about 2% of those who are classified as problem gamblers. Treatment may not be needed by all of these individuals, but in contrast early brief treatment or support is often needed by a much wider range of people, such as those at risk of or experiencing moderate harm, or affected others.
Primary care and other NHS services are currently diagnosing and treating people for co-occurring challenges or conditions such as alcohol dependency or mental ill health, for whom gambling may be a related factor.
Limited data on this method of diagnosis and potential treatment is available but is not routinely collected, so it is uncertain how many people have accessed some form of treatment or support in this way, and the extent of the role NHS treatment services already play is hidden.
While some people will recover without help, this discrepancy between the numbers of people in treatment compared to the potential need raises concerns about underdeveloped referral routes into treatment and support, a potential lack of awareness of the services available, for example by GPs and social workers, and a lack of national availability.
There is also a knowledge gap in terms of where the unmet need is, what types of treatment and support are most effective, for whom and in what circumstances.
Treatment services across England, Scotland and Wales should provide the right mix of a broad range of options that address the identified needs.
This should include:
- access to a national helpline
- individual treatment
- group treatment and support
- online treatment and support
- residential treatment
- peer support
- support for affected others.
Collectively, we need to understand further the effectiveness of the various treatment methods for those with gambling addiction and those experiencing gambling harms, in order to identify which treatment methodologies and support options best suit different groups.
We also need to understand much more about those who do not access treatment or support in order to identify the barriers to access, such as the stigma that can be associated with gambling addiction, and ways to overcome those barriers. This will inform and support future work led by others to increase the reach of treatment and for long-term sustainability.
Through our research programme, the Gambling Commission is committed to driving and supporting progress to ensure that current GambleAware commissioned treatment options are evaluated and that treatment needs are assessed across England, Scotland and Wales to address current geographical barriers to access, increase the numbers receiving treatment and target treatment options to where there is greatest need.
This assessment will also consider those who are not seeking treatment, to understand how their needs could be addressed.
Next sectionRealising the aim
Last updated: 27 September 2022
Show updates to this content
Callout added to detail that the National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms ran until April 2022.