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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

Published
8 May 2025

Last updated
8 May 2025 - Changes

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Contents

7 - Conclusion and recommendations

This qualitative research involved follow-up interviews with participants who took part in the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB). The research sought to explore experiences with adverse consequences (identified through the survey) in greater depth and identified the following:

  • journeys with gambling consequences are complex and influenced by a wide range of external factors which include factors related to individuals (such as childhood experiences, employment, social networks, and health), wider social and political factors (such as the COVID-19 pandemic and rising costs of living), and factors related to the gambling industry (such as the types of gambling offered and advertising)
  • first experiences with gambling are often (but not always) positive, with adverse consequences often developing over time and some participants experiencing them more quickly than others. This was particularly the case when a distressing life event (such as bereavement or the loss of a job) led to increased gambling frequency as a ‘coping mechanism’. However, the relationship between positive and negative consequences was not linear and while in some cases positive consequences preceded negative ones, and created the conditions for their emergence by encouraging an increase in gambling participation, in other cases they occurred in parallel. The research identified variation in participants’ first experiences with adverse consequences. Often financial consequences were experienced first which led to subsequent impacts on mental health or relationships. However, in other cases, relationship consequences were experienced first, for example, conflict with friends and family stemming from stigma surrounding gambling participation
  • there are complex interactions between different adverse consequences as well as external factors. Participants described a range of ways that harms interrelated, including one consequence leading to another (such as financial consequences leading to relationship consequences), consequences taking place simultaneously, and circular or reinforcing relationships between gambling consequences
  • participants took varied approaches to reduce or prevent adverse consequences from gambling. This included personal budgeting techniques to reduce financial consequences, the use of apps or banks to block gambling participation and using deposit limit tools offered by gambling operators. Interviews also highlighted the importance of support networks for reducing negative consequences related to gambling.

Recommendations for reducing gambling consequences

This research has shown that journeys with gambling consequences are complex and influenced by a range of external factors which are often unpredictable. Interventions aiming to address gambling harms should consider that gambling consequences can occur at any point in someone’s journey with gambling. This may be very soon after starting gambling or decades into gambling experiences. This research has also shown complex interactions between different adverse consequences. Interventions to support those experiencing gambling harm will likely need to be targeted or flexible, to support those experiencing varying types of harm and have the ability to provide holistic support (for example, supporting with financial impacts as well as relationship impacts). Participants highlighted how tools provided by gambling operators (such as deposit limits) could be helpful, particularly for reducing adverse consequences related to finances. However, this research also identified issues related to trust in these tools (as they were provided by the gambling industry who were perceived to primarily have commercial interests). Building full trust in support options available will be key to supporting those who experienced adverse consequences to access help.

Recommendations for future research

This research has added to the evidence base for several of the Gambling Commission’s Evidence gaps and priorities for 2023 to 2026. This includes Evidence Theme 1 (early gambling experiences and gateway products), Evidence Theme 2 (the range and variability of gambling experiences), and Evidence Theme 3 (gambling-related harms and vulnerability). The following recommendations for areas of further exploration would continue to develop the evidence base in these 3 priority areas:

  1. This research identified that gambling consequences are interrelated, often long-term and hard to disentangle from people’s individual life circumstances. This emphasises the importance of continued qualitative research to give depth to quantitative findings about adverse gambling consequences. The journeys explored in this report identified the significance of life events for experiences of gambling consequences which could be explored in further qualitative work. This includes starting, changing and ending employment (for example, through retirement or redundancy) and changes to households (for example, having children or children leaving home) or relocating (for example, moving house).

  2. The importance of these life events and stages could be further explored using existing GSGB data on potentially adverse and severe consequences from gambling. This data could be analysed in relation to variables on age, employment, health and wellbeing, and specific factors like retirement. This research identified that the first adverse consequences experienced by participants were often financial or relationship consequences, which then led to further (often different) adverse consequences. There would also be benefit in exploring these consequences longitudinally using quantitative data to explore changes to adverse consequences through time, and attempt to identify which key life events may increase the risk of experiencing adverse consequences.

  3. Future research in this area should involve co-production with those with lived experience. Working alongside the Commission’s Lived Experience Advisory Panel (LEAP) in this research was essential to ensuring that the research was accessible and inclusive, did not cause psychological harm to those taking part, and covered a wide range of relevant areas.
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Appendix A - Qualitative research on the consequences of gambling
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