The UK has seen a sharp increase of the gaming market share over the last decade, with gambling opportunities expanding their reach among more people each year.
Today, Community Care group revealed that researchers at King’s College London are making a nation-wide study to see how negative effects of gambling may affect more vulnerable individuals. As explained by group’s officials, its study called “Adults at risk and gambling: exploring the nature of gambling-related harm” consists of three phases.
Community Care revealed that the first part of the study included a scoping review, while the second phase involved interviews with major representatives of various charitable organisations, third-sector organisations as well as health care professionals.
The organisation shared that the third phase of the study is starting. The group further explained that the researchers from King’s College London were seeking to include more professionals, such as social workers, in that third stage in order to get more opinions on the matter. Community Care called for more practitioners such as professionals working in mental health services, housing and domestic abuse services, addictions and safeguarding social services to become part of the study in order for more accurate information to be gathered.
As explained by Community Care, gambling services have greatly increased their popularity as a pastime across the UK. According to recent research, a massive amount of almost £14 billion has been spent by British players in 2015/2016, which was a massive increase from the £7 billion spent by local residents in 2006/2007. As Casino Guardian has reported earlier, the British Government and some organisations have expressed their concerns with the increased popularity of gambling and the constantly rising number of gaming opportunities. This increase of both retail and online gaming products and options, as well as the nation-wide gaming advertising has brought a lot of negative consequences to players, according to some experts.
As an organisation focused on keeping players safe from the harmful effects of gambling, Community Care has been aimed at actually learning how gambling activities affect people who are considered as more susceptible to gambling-related harm. According to Community Care, gambling-related harm might be caused by users’ participation in various gambling activities and finding it hard to stop, as well as spending large amounts of money.
The “Adults at risk and gambling: exploring the nature of gambling-related harm” project is primarily focused on the harmful effects that gambling may have on more vulnerable adults. As mentioned above, too, the study is aimed to identify current practice related to some gambling addictions and other negative effects that gambling may have on people suffering from various mental health problems which put them at risk of problem gambling.
Earlier in 2017, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services issued a special guidance for local social workers, aiming to give them better instructions on how to take care of the vulnerable adults projection from scams and financial abuse schemes. A case study focused on gambling scams was also included in the guidance, with social workers being instructed how to spot the signs of an individual responding to such scams and how to prevent more vulnerable adults from taking part in such forms of abuse.
According to Community Care, everyone who works in adult social care should take part in the study and share their experience of supporting adults who maybe put at risk of harms related to gambling activities.
- Author
Daniel Williams
