Report
Qualitative research on the consequences of gambling
Qualitative research on the consequences of gambling: follow-up interviews with participants from the Gambling Survey for Great Britain
Contents
- Executive summary
- 1 - Introduction
- 2 - Methodology
- 3 - Overview of impacts of gambling on participants
- 4 - Participants’ journeys with adverse or severe consequences from gambling
- 5 - Interrelation of different adverse or severe consequences from gambling
- 6 - Preventing and reducing consequences
- 7 - Conclusion and recommendations
- Appendix A - Qualitative research on the consequences of gambling
5 - Interrelation of different adverse or severe consequences from gambling
As set out in Chapters 3 and 4, interviews showed how participants had experienced a wide range of adverse consequences from gambling (of differing severities), shaped by their individual life situations and events. For some, one consequence from gambling clearly led to another, while for others, the consequences fed into each other in an ongoing cycle. In some cases, participants faced multiple problems at once with no clear sequence.
While participants mentioned some positive impacts from gambling, including financial and social benefits, this chapter focuses on how various adverse consequences from gambling connect in their experience. It provides examples to demonstrate how these harms occurred in different contexts, and highlights how different types of consequences, such as financial, relationship, and health and wellbeing harms, are connected. Participants emphasised that losing money was often the starting point for these negative consequences. They described how losing money through gambling led to stress, self-doubt, and depression, which often resulted in strained family relationships and, in some cases, negative effects on work.
One consequence leading to other consequence(s)
Some participants felt that one negative consequence from their gambling clearly caused another. For example, they discussed how adverse financial consequences caused both health and relationship harms. For instance, participants shared how losing large amounts of money while gambling caused significant stress, self-doubt, and depression. These health harms often consequently resulted in arguments with partners and strained family relationships. In many cases this linked to dishonesty about gambling expenses or spending less time and money on activities with family. This often caused family members to question their gambling habits and priorities. For some participants this felt like a clear chain of events. When reflecting on the negative consequences of their gambling, they pointed out that losing significant amounts of money was often the starting point for other adverse or severe consequences.
‘I think gambling has done that to me, the fact that the kind of money I've lost, trying to recoup it, […] the impact it's having on my family, on my life, on relationships - not only that; it's my physical and mental health. It's not good at all’.
– Male interview participant, aged 35 to 44 years
In other instances, participants described how negative consequences related to finances affected their work. For example, spending a large portion of their salary on gambling and needing to borrow money led them to prioritise gambling over work, hoping to win back the money they had lost. In some cases, this resulted in participants losing their jobs. For some participants, the effects of their gambling worsened over time, eventually impacting nearly every area of their life, including finances, relationships, mental health, and work. This was usually caused by the initial financial losses from their gambling, which were often seen as the trigger for these negative consequences. These harms often worsened as participants increased the frequency of their gambling.
‘They [negative consequences from gambling] are all linked because without the initial gambling, I wouldn't have the stress and without the stress, I wouldn't be having to tell my wife something. If I'm not having to tell my wife something, well, then she wouldn't be - she wouldn't have a reason to have an argument, so it all stems from just the initial loss of money.’
– Male interview participant, aged 25 to 34 years
However, there were some cases where a series of events caused by an individual's gambling led to harm that was not related to losing money. For example, some participants described gambling as ‘wasting time’ and did not lead to anything productive. Others mentioned how social activities often focused on gambling, which reduced the quality of their interactions with friends and family.
‘Just spending time with each other would have been just as good, but with the casino, it just took too much focus...’
– Male interview participant, aged 35 to 44 years
The impact of these adverse consequences which led to other negative outcomes varied. Some participants reported facing severe daily consequences from their gambling, which affected many areas of their lives. These included relationship breakdowns, serious mental health consequences, loss of employment contracts, and significant financial losses and debts. Other participants also experienced one negative consequence leading to another or multiple other consequences, but not every day or to the same degree. The impact often depended on whether participants lost money and was influenced by different levels of stress and changing emotions.
‘The thing is, there are days I've won like, hundreds of pounds, and I will be very happy. I will be the happiest person in the world, and family will say, why is this? I'm working very hard, I can do this at my job. I knew that was a stupid thing, but yes. I would say my moods and my feelings changed from when I lost to when I won’.
– Male interview participant, aged 25 to 34 years
Circular relationship of negative consequences
While some participants felt that one adverse consequence related to their own gambling clearly led to another, in other cases they described the negative impacts of their gambling as a cycle. For example, some participants experienced losing significant amounts of money which worsened their mental health. This led them to gamble more in attempt to cope with negative feelings and depression or act as a ‘form of escape’. This pattern illustrates the cyclical relationship between different adverse consequences of gambling. Interviews highlighted that financial losses from gambling often triggered other negative consequences, however in other instances participants could not always pinpoint the exact consequences that started this cycle.
‘They didn't go together really, depression and gambling. You can't do both of them, you can't, because they both feed each other. I'm gambling if I'm depressed. I'm depressed because I'm gambling. I'm losing my house, I'm not paying my rent...I can't control my mental health. It's like a vicious cycle’
– Female interview participant, aged 45 to 54 years
Negative consequences taking place simultaneously
Whilst some participants described the negative consequences of their gambling as a repetitive cycle, others described the impacts from gambling as not following a sequence or a cycle but rather happening all at once. For some participants it was difficult to separate the different negative consequences of gambling. They faced multiple adverse and severe consequences at once, which had a significant harmful impact on their lives. For instance, participants described facing financial losses, negative impacts on relationships and mental health harms simultaneously due to gambling.
‘…the financial side and the stress it was causing. It was causing my wife a lot of stress as well…I just noticed my stress was getting worse and worse with it, because I was constantly just thinking about if I'm going to win today’.
– Male interview participant, aged 35 to 44 years
4. Participants’ journeys with adverse or severe consequences from gambling Next section
6. Preventing and reducing consequences
Last updated: 8 May 2025
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