Report
Insights into affected others from the GSGB
Insights into affected others from the GSGB
Adverse consequences experienced as an affected other
By the definition used in this analysis, those affected by someone else’s gambling experienced at least one adverse consequence – whether severe or potentially adverse - due to someone else’s gambling in the past 12 months. We explored these adverse consequences by domain (health, relationship and resource) and by each specific consequence within the overall affected others group, and examined differences between those who did and didn’t gamble themselves.
Adverse consequences experienced by affected others across domains
Affected others were most likely to experience at least one health consequence (73.7 percent) due to someone else’s gambling, followed by at least one relationship consequence (65.3 percent), and at least one resource consequence (42.5 percent), as seen in Table 6.
Affected others who did and didn’t gamble in the past 12 months were similarly likely to experience at least one health consequence, but those who did gamble were more likely to experience other types of consequences. Resource consequences show the largest difference between the two groups, with affected others who gamble being 1.5 times more likely to experience at least one resource consequence (48.1 percent compared to 32.8 percent).
Table 6 - Types of consequences experienced by affected others due to someone else’s gambling
| Type of consequence | All affected others (percentage) | Affected others who have not gambled in the past 12 months (percentage) | Affected others who have gambled in the past 12 months (percentage) |
|---|---|---|---|
| At least one health consequence | 73.7% | 74.6% | 73.3% |
| At least one relationship consequence | 65.3% | 60.8% | 68.0% |
| At least one resource consequence | 42.5% | 32.8% | 48.1% |
| At least one severe consequence | 26.6% | 22.4% | 9.1% |
| Used a support service | 14.5% | 7.7% | 18.3% |
Specific adverse consequences experienced by affected others
The 3 most common consequences reported overall due to someone else’s gambling were:
- health problems, including stress and anxiety (57.9 percent)
- felt embarrassment, guilt or shame (52.0 percent)
- increased conflict or arguments (45.4 percent).
The full list of adverse consequences is reported in Table 7. Affected others who did and didn’t gamble reported experiencing these top 3 consequences at similar rates, whilst all other consequences were more likely to be experienced by affected others who also gambled themselves. The likelihood of experiencing consequences increased with the PGSI score of the affected other.
Table 7 - Consequences experienced by affected others due to someone else’s gambling (Categories in brackets describe the domain of the consequence)7
| Consequence experienced | All affected others (percentage) | Affected others who have not gambled in the past 12 months (percentage) | Affected others who have gambled in the past 12 months (percentage) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health problems, stress, anxiety (health) | 57.9% | 58.7% | 57.5% |
| Embarrassment, guilt, shame (health) | 52.0% | 50.6% | 52.9% |
| Greater conflict or arguments (relationship) | 45.4% | 44.2% | 46.1% |
| Lied to hide extent of gambling (relationship) | 33.6% | 23.9% | 39.3% |
| Reduced spending on everyday items (resource) | 25.5% | 18.5% | 29.5% |
| Felt isolated (relationship) | 25.5% | 21.2% | 28.0% |
| Used savings or increased credit (resource) | 24.0% | 15.4% | 28.9% |
| Borrowed money or sold anything (resource) | 20.8% | 13.0% | 25.0% |
| Relationship broken down (relationship, severe) | 19.8% | 17.0% | 21.5% |
| Absent from work or poor performance (resource) | 18.9% | 13.2% | 22.1% |
| Experienced violence or abuse (relationship, severe) | 11.1% | 7.1% | 13.4% |
| Lost something of significant financial value (resource, severe) | 7.4% | 5.7% | 8.4% |
| Committed a crime (resource, severe) | 5.5% | 1.4% | 7.9% |
Severe consequences experienced by affected others
Additionally, over a quarter of people affected by someone else’s gambling (26.6 percent) reported experiencing at least one severe consequence. Those who had gambled themselves were 1.3 times more likely to report experiencing at least one severe consequence. The most commonly reported severe adverse consequences were relationship based, with 74.3 percent of people who experienced at least one severe consequence experiencing a break down of a close relationship, as shown in Table 8.
Of those who reported experiencing at least one severe consequence, those who had and hadn’t gambled in the past 12 months were equally likely to report experiencing a relationship break down or losing something of significant financial value, whilst those who had gambled were significantly more likely to experience abuse or violence, or to commit a crime in order to finance someone else's gambling.
Table 8 - Break down of severe consequences experienced by those who reported experiencing at least one severe consequence7
| Severe consequence | Affected others who experienced at least one severe consequence (percentage) | Affected others (at least one severe consequence) who have not gambled in the past 12 months (percentage) | Affected others (at least one severe consequence) who have gambled in the past 12 months (percentage) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Relationship broken down (relationship, severe) | 74.3% | 76.0% | 73.9% |
| Experienced violence or abuse (relationship, severe) | 41.9% | 31.7% | 46.2% |
| Lost something of significant financial value (resource, severe) | 27.8% | 25.4% | 29.0% |
| Committed a crime (resource, severe) | 20.9% | 6.0% | 27.2% |
References
7 Full wordings of consequences questions are available in the Methods section.
Further exploration of affected others who gamble and those who do not Next section
Adverse consequences experienced as an affected other from their own gambling
Last updated: 14 May 2026
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