GamCare ignites new online gambling behaviour study
Two-phase investigation aims to inform policy on making gambling safer for players as ‘trigger’ question project gains funding
GamCare has begun a new research project in conjunction with LAB, City University and Ignition House to better understand online gambling behaviour and markers of harm. This project has two phases – the first is a small qualitative study with up to 20 participants who have gambled online in the last six months. The second phase will be a larger, quantitative study. The first phase involves one-hour one-to-one interviews with individuals who have gambled in the last six months, and aims to learn about participant experiences, behaviours and feelings towards online gambling. GamCare is currently soliciting for survey participants, with a view to conducting interviews in early 2021. Elsewhere, a King’s College London and GamCare research team has won National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Social Care funding to develop a ‘trigger’ question to identify people with gambling-related harm in adult social care services. The team plans to develop a new ‘trigger’ question which can be used with enquirers and service users and test its effectiveness in three local authority areas. This will enable people affected by gambling harm to be put in touch with support and to build up a picture of the numbers affected to meet an existing knowledge gap in the area of gambling-related harm. The research team includes several academics from King’s College, the University of York and representatives from the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust. “Developing a single question screening tool or ‘trigger question’ which can be implemented in a variety of settings is an essential part of better identifying gambling harms, so we can work together to address them as swiftly as possible,” GamCare CEO Anna Hemmings said. “Giving professionals in adult social care settings the tools and confidence to open up conversations around gambling, risk and harm is a vital step to ensuring individuals, families and communities are able to access the right interventions at the right time to prevent harms from escalating,” she added.