Report
Lived experiences of affected others: Qualitative research
Lived experiences of affected others: Qualitative research
Introduction and background
About the research
Most people who gamble do so safely and without harm. But for some, gambling can have serious consequences; these consequences rarely stop with the person gambling. Partners, parents, siblings, children, and friends can all be affected by someone else’s gambling, yet this group remains relatively under-researched in Great Britain. Addressing this gap and understanding the impact of gambling on people who gamble and those close to them is therefore a priority within the Gambling Commission’s Evidence Gaps and Priorities, under Evidence Theme 3: Gambling-related harm and vulnerability.
People affected by someone else’s gambling are commonly referred to as 'affected others'. Research on gambling-related harm – including the framework for action established by Wardle et al. (2018) (opens in new tab) – has shown that these harms are wide-ranging, spanning financial strain, relationship detriments, and lasting damage to health and well-being.
Despite this, affected others are a group with limited visibility, few dedicated support mechanisms, and little formal recognition of their experience within the gambling landscape.
Since 2023, the Gambling Commission has included a dedicated set of questions in the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) on the consequences experienced from someone else’s gambling, allowing for more detailed analysis of individuals identified as affected others. These questions cover 2 categories of adverse consequences:
Severe adverse consequences, where any experience of them is highly likely to be harmful
Other potential adverse consequences, which are more likely to be harmful if experienced often, or may be harmful depending on the individual’s specific circumstances
Both categories span 3 domains: relationships, financial resources, and health and well-being. The full question set is available in our Measuring the adverse consequences from gambling report.
In doing so, the GSGB (2024) found that 9 percent of adults are identified as affected others, and that 26.61 percent of those have experienced at least one severe consequence – such as relationship breakdown, significant financial loss, or exposure to violence or abuse. The data also shows that of those 9 percent who identified themselves as affected others, 63 percent had gambled themselves in the past 12 months, a finding that shaped both the research questions and the sample for this study.
Though the GSGB data tells us how many people are affected and the consequences they report, it does not indicate how these consequences can develop over time, how their experiences may be shaped by the gambling environment and operator practices, what it actually feels like to live with the consequences of someone else’s gambling, or why so few seek formal or specialist support. This research was commissioned to address these gaps.
The Commission appointed Humankind Research to conduct a qualitative study with affected others from across Great Britain, to contextualise and build on GSGB findings and contribute to the Commission’s roadmap priority of understanding the impact of gambling on people who gamble and affected others.
This report is 1 of 2 outputs from the research. A companion report, to be published in the coming months, draws on the same qualitative interviews to explore implications for support organisations and the wider gambling ecosystem. Where this report focuses on potential areas for regulatory consideration by the Commission, the companion report is aimed at those working directly with people who experience adverse consequences due to someone's gambling, and those close to them.
A note on terminology: Throughout this report, we use the term 'person gambling' to refer to the individual whose gambling behaviour has affected the participant. In most cases, this is someone close to them, such as a partner, parent, adult child, sibling, or friend. Where a participant also gambled themselves, 'the person gambling' refers specifically to the other individual whose gambling caused harm, not to the participant’s own gambling activity. This distinction is made explicit where relevant.
Research aims and core questions
Protecting vulnerable people from harm is one of the Gambling Commission’s core licensing objectives. To support that objective, the Commission needs to understand not only the experiences of people who gamble, but also the experiences of those close to them. This research set out to:
- improve understanding and interpretation of data collected via the GSGB
- determine if there are points in the consumer pathways into, during, and after gambling where interventions or policy considerations could be beneficial, by regulators and other statutory bodies
- inform the approach to recontacting GSGB respondents who indicate that they have been affected by someone else’s gambling and provide recommendations on potential further research questions.
This research was shaped by 4 core questions:
What consequences do affected others experience as a result of someone else's gambling, and how do relationship dynamics influence these impacts?
What are affected others' own gambling behaviours, and how do these compare to those of the person they know?
How do affected others perceive and describe the gambling journey of the person they know?
How do external factors (such as gambling environments, product features, advertising, and operator practices) shape the experiences reported by affected others?
References
1 Statistics relating to adverse consequences have been reported to one decimal place, in line with GSGB reporting.
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Lived experiences of affected others - Approach and methods
Last updated: 25 June 2026
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