GambleAware calls for proposals to research female, BAME gambling harms

GambleAware will fund each programme with £250,000.

“In Great Britain, there is limited research available on gambling and the lived experience of minority communities and women.” said GambleAware in a statement.

“However, existing evidence suggests the burdens of gambling harms are higher amongst minority ethnic communities and that these communities are less likely to access specialist gambling services compared with white communities.”

“However, existing evidence suggests the burdens of gambling harms are higher amongst minority ethnic communities and that these communities are less likely to access specialist gambling services compared with white communities.”
“There is also evidence that indicates participation in gambling and the rate of women who experience gambling disorder is increasing more quickly than amongst men, but reasons for this are unclear.”

Last year, the first edition of the Treatment Needs and Gap Analysis report revealed that women were three times more likely than men to cite practical barriers as reasons for not accessing treatment or support.

The same report found that people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities were less likely to gamble, but had a higher rate of problem gambling classification.

In response to the results of this report, GambleAware called for UK authorities to increase the help offered to problem gamblers and identified women, young people, people from BAME communities and people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds as needing particular attention.

GambleAware are seeking bids from multidisciplinary teams, including academic institutions and research agencies, to form the research programmes. The results generated from the programmes will influence GambleAware’s commissioning practices.

The news comes as GambleAware published its submission to the Department of Digital Culture, Media and Sport’s (DCMS) Gambling Act review. The submission called for a mandatory levy to fund research, education and treatment (RET) related to problem gambling harm.