GambleAware says there has been a 12 per cent rise in the number of people using its services.

UK.- The industry-backed grant-making body GambleAware has reported a 12 per cent year-on-year rise in the number of people receiving treatment for gambling harm issues. It said that 11,000 users were treated by the National Gambling Support Network (NGSN) between April 1 2023 and 31 March 2024.

Around 7,500 people received structured treatment such as cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), one-to-one support or residential care. Meanwhile, the number of people receiving early intervention also increased.

Some 3,291 people used the early intervention service to discuss gambling habits only while 3,048 received further treatment. Among the latter, 66 per cent said they had ended up in debt because of gambling, 24 per cent lost relationships and 11 per cent lost a job. GambleAware’s report states that 95 per cent of those who completed treatment showed signs of improvement, with problem gambling rates falling from 87 to 10 per cent during the course of treatment.

As for the speed of efficiency, the report says that 50 per cent of people had their first appointment within six days of contacting the NGSN and 75 per cent within twelve days. The GambleAware-commissioned NGSN is available to anyone in England, Scotland and Wales who is experiencing harm from gambling themselves or has witnessed it among people close to them. GambleAware receives donations from gambling operators however, the UK government plans to soon introduce a mandatory levy on gambling revenue to pay for treatment and prevention services.

GambleAware chief commissioning and strategy officer Anna Hargrave said: “In 2023, we launched new commissioning arrangements that expanded the NGSN’s scope to include prevention and early intervention, in addition to treatment. This means that our services are now working much more closely with local communities, reducing stigma and removing the barriers to accessing treatment.   

“Not only have we reached more people, we have been able to identify and support people at a much earlier stage and that is part of the reason why we have seen an increase in people receiving treatment and support. Our new commissioning arrangements also included the addition of the Primary Care Gambling Service who work closely with our third sector providers enabling us to support more people across the NGSN.   

“We look forward to the introduction of the statutory levy on gambling operators and the future gambling harms commissioning system, and we will continue to work in partnership with all those in the sector including the NHS.”  

Professor Dame Clare Gerada, director of the National Primary Care Gambling Service, said: “We work closely with third-sector organisations and charities to care for patients and their affected others experiencing gambling-related harms. Working as part of the National Gambling Support Network (NGSN), we share our clinical expertise and skills in gambling-related harm to those network members and learn from each other. 

“This allows us to enhance the care all of us can provide to patients and ensures those experiencing gambling harm receive the most appropriate care and support when needed.”  

Earlier in the month, GambleAware published a new independent evaluation report on the first year of its new Community Resilience Fund (CRF). The fund was introduced as a new way to commission awareness and support services, funding providers that had not previously received funds from GambleAware.

In its first year, the CRF made grants to 21 community-based organisations in England, Wales and Scotland for the provision of gambling harm support and awareness-raising initiatives. Conducted by Ipsos and New Philanthropy Capital, the report identifies an increase in awareness in local communities as a result. 

Meanwhile, GambleAware has spoken in support of a high-profile report on gambling and health published in The Lancet. The world’s oldest medical journal, and one of the most esteemed, warned that gambling, and particularly online gambling, poses a rising global threat to public health.