The largest independent gambling charity organisation in the UK – GambleAware – announced that it has awarded a grant worth £350,000 to fund further examination of the link between gambling-related harm and discrimination and social stigma.
The charity granted the aforementioned amount to the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) and the University of Wolverhampton to support their partnership with Liverpool John Moore University as part of an effort that would examine the effects of social stigma and discrimination on people who experience gambling-related harm.
The announcement of the funding was made shortly after another research funded by GambleAware and held to examine gambling-related harm faced by the white majority and minority groups across the country showed large ethnic-related discrepancies.
Anna Hargrave, the chief commissioning officer at GambleAware, commented on the recent announcement, outlining that the limited availability of research into the relationship between gambling and social stigma in the UK only highlighted the great need for breaking down the considerable barrier that stigmatisation and the discrimination associated with it create.
Research of Stigmatisation and Discrimination against Problem Gamblers Would Provide Better Understanding of the Issue
As revealed by GambleAware, the research in question will look to identify how people who deal with gambling-related harm are discriminated against and stigmatised by various groups and sectors across society, including civil society and third-sector and charitable organisations; families and communities; service and healthcare providers; the gambling industry in general; as well as by popular media, and in political and policy discourse.
Apart from that, the two organisations funded by the country’s largest independent gambling charity are set to also examine the disproportions in the impact that stigmatisation has in local communities, as well as the reasons behind the discrepancies in question. They are also set to take into consideration the link between these factors and gambling addiction, along with other challenges such as anxiety or depression, drug use, homelessness, etc.
Ms Hargrave shared that stigmatisation itself is known to cause significant harm in and of itself, and can result in the feeling of shame, as well as in experiencing social exclusion and/or mental health issues. Apart from that, individuals dealing with gambling-related harm could face difficulties accessing extremely important treatment or support for their condition, such as the one of the National Gambling Treatment Service.
As revealed by GambleAware, the main objective of the aforementioned research is to identify what interventions, services, information campaigns and policies are set to be effective when it comes to challenging social stigma, including in the media and through various research. According to the charity organisation, this would help reduce gambling harm for entire communities that are suffering the negative impact of social stigmatisation and discrimination.
GambleAware believes that providing more funding to the research carried out by the University of Wolverhampton and NatCen will help scientists build more knowledge in the area. The research is set to deliver its findings in 2024. The UK gambling charity also intends to remain focused on gambling-related social stigmatisation over the next couple of years, as it is planning to launch a major campaign regarding behaviour changes in a move aimed at reducing the stigma associated with gambling and gambling-related harm.
- Author
Olivia Cole
