GambleAware awards £250,000 grant for women problem gambling research

The grant will fund a team led by Kelsey Beninger, director at IFF Social Research Agency, in collaboration with Maria Fannin, professor of human geography at the University of Bristol; Sharon Collard, professor of personal finance at the University of Bristol; and Dominique Webb, head of programmes at GamCare, and Marina Smith, women’s programme manager at GamCare.

Following a mixed-methods, multidisciplinary and multi-sector approach, the 18-month programme will include roundtables, in-depth interviews and community committees with women with lived experience of gambling harms. 

Key objectives of the study will be to explore the reality and lived experiences of women and their engagement with and experience of gambling, gambling harms, and gambling treatment and support services.

Researchers will also seek to establish and explore the drivers of gambling harms among women in Great Britain, as well as explore the services, interventions and policies needed to reduce and prevent gambling harms for women.

The research has been commissioned as part of GambleAware’s five-year organisational strategy.

“Women’s experiences of gambling harms are under-researched, often presented as homogenous and in terms of how they differ to men’s experiences,” GambleAware research director Alison Clare said.

“We are pleased to have awarded this grant to this strong multi-agency, multi-disciplinary team which will be drilling down into the experiences and needs of different communities of women. This is an important step towards ensuring GambleAware and others are commissioning the range of treatment and support services women want and will use. 

“GambleAware is committed to delivering a whole-system public health approach to gambling harms and understanding the wider determinants that drive these – including gender, health, race, ethnicity, and inequalities – is fundamental to achieving this.”