Kings College London Research

Research

Developing a question to identify gambling harms to individuals or affected others and piloting it in three local authorities.

Funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), Research for Social Care Programme (RE17877), GamCare supported research by Kings College London, in collaboration with the University of York and BetKnowMore from April 2021 – September 2023.

Purpose of the Research

Many people in Britain gamble and do so without problem. But some people experience harms such as debt, mental and physical health concerns and relationship difficulties. Friends and family of people that experience harm from gambling are also impacted. Local Authorities are being asked by government to help people experiencing gambling harms, such as debt and money problems as well as mental health issues, but Local Authorities are not always sure how to identify people in need of help.

GamCare and a team with different research skills and experience of gambling-related harm, were funded by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) under its Research for Social Care programme to test a question for use in three Local Authorities. We hope this will enable people identified as affected by gambling harms to get the support they need, including their families, and to wider communities.

GamCare has developed a Free Training for Local Authority staff on Identifying and supporting service users affected by gambling harms in Adult Social Care. The training includes guidance on identifying gambling harms, information about support and treatment options and the available support tools such as self-exclusion and bank blocking.

• Download the video slides
• Staff Guidance Document
• Recommendations for local authorities wishing to embed a question about gambling harms within services
• Training webinar for staff: Identifying and supporting service users affected by gambling harms in Adult Social Care. 30 minutes facilitated YouTube video.