GamCare sounds alarm over cost of living and gambling in the UK

UK-based charity GamCare has once again raised the question of how increasing costs of living in the country have impacted gamblers’ behavior, and how many believe that gambling could be a way to their personal financial improvement. The charity, cited by media outlet The Guardian, said that there was an overwhelming number of gamblers who believed that gambling could lead to an improved financial situation in the next year.

According to GamCare, 42% of people who gambled responded in the affirmative compared with just 7% of the general population. This means that as the cost of living crisis unfolds, people are turning to more extreme ends to offset mounting bills. To get to these results, GamCare turned to YouGov, a market research and analytics firm, which interviewed a sample of 4,202 British adults.

In its research, YouGov also established that one in six people who were showing signs of gambling-related harm had used a warm bank in the 12 months leading up to the interview. Only 5% of the general population had in comparison.

The results were even more worrying when a closer look was taken at who the gamblers were. For example, 50% of parents who experienced gambling-related harm or were outright classified as "problem gamblers" would not have the means to secure clean clothes or food and support their children. GamCare has been trying to offset some of these negatives, with one initiative being a new self-help portal.

Commenting on these results, Anna Hemmings, who is the chief executive officer at GamCare, said that the cost of living crisis has taken its toll on problemgamblers who could be trying to scrape a living together more so than other groups in the country. Hemmings warned that an understanding that gambling isn’t a way to improve one’s financial situation was needed.

She also insisted that it’s important to factor in a person’s financial situation if problem gambling is going to be addressed in the long term. In February, GamCare said it would seek to help third parties that are engaging with problem gamblers better understand their financial situation and how gambling-related debt can hinder their recovery.

As one person with a lived experience shared, you cannot start tackling your gambling addiction problem if you have a debt problem. In the meantime, the UKGC’s latest results suggest that gambling in 2022 remained mostly unchanged, although people were spending more on national lottery tickets.

Image credit: Unsplash.com