GambleAware awards grant for minority communities gambling harms study

Funds were awarded through a competitive process to two consortia; one lead by market research company Ipsos MORI, supported by researchers at the University of Manchester; and a second led by ClearView Research.

The study, headed by Ipsos MORI, will run for 18 months and focus on underlying factors and how these can drive or exacerbate gambling harms among marginalised and socially excluded communities

Key objectives of the research include exploring minority communities’ lived experience of gambling, gambling harms, and gambling advice and information, support, and treatment services.

Researchers will also look at the drivers of gambling harms among minority communities in Britain, building on international research, as well as identify the services, interventions, and policies necessary to reduce and prevent gambling harms among these communities.

The final research report will be published in 2023, but interim reports will be available earlier, which GambleAware will use to support its wider five-year strategy that aims to achieve a society free from gambling harms across all communities. 

The original grant was set at £250,000, but GambleAware increased this to £300,000 to support the collaborative consortium, 

“The experiences of minority communities around gambling are at present under-researched in Great Britain, yet evidence suggests that these groups are more likely to experience harm from gambling, and less likely to access gambling treatment services, compared with white communities,” GambleAware research lead Jay St.John Levy said.

“We are very pleased to award this grant to these two consortia who together bring considerable expertise focussing on people’s nuanced lived realities. This will help explore why these communities experience a greater burden of harm, and how to break down the barriers preventing them from accessing services.

“This research will better ensure that GambleAware and others can commission a broad range of treatment and support services that work for minority ethnic, language, and religious communities. It is therefore an important step towards reducing the current inequalities in gambling harms.”

Last month, GambleAware also awarded a £250,000 grant to a team of researchers to help build evidence of the lived experiences of women in relation to gambling and gambling-related harm.

In addition, the charity recommissioned Scottish charity Fast Forward to deliver the Scottish Gambling Education Hub for a further three years until October 2024.