GambleAware continues to publish impactful insights on its way out, as the not-for-profit organization has been working on forwarding as much relevant data as possible to help steer further efforts to minimize gambling-related harm in Great Britain.
Due to shut down by March 31, 2026, the organization’s latest report focuses on requests for treatment, support, and advice that it has received. The survey was conducted by YouGov and encompasses the past five years.
The last five years have seen more people in Great Britain seek help for gambling-related problems
Among the key takeaways are a near-double increase in the requests for treatment and a conclusion that 1 in 3 – or 30% of all adults who gamble – and are experiencing any risk related to the activity want treatment support, and advice, up from 1 in 5 from 2020.
Another highlight of the survey has been how people may be affected by gambling-related problems and harm even if they are not gamblers themselves.
YouGov specifically sought to analyze whether people are also affected by the gambling habits of friends and family, with some 4.3m adults in Great Britain now experiencing some consequence because of the gambling habits of someone they are close to.
Commenting on the findings of the newest report, GambleAware CEO Zoë Osmond OBE has reiterated that gambling can be both highly addictive and have devastating consequences on people’s lives, relationships, mental and physical wellbeing, as well as finances.
The fact that more people are now actively seeking help with their gambling habits is a positive sign, Osmond argued, but it also indicates that there are more people exposed to it.
"To reverse this troubling trend, urgent preventative action is needed. This must include tougher regulation of gambling advertising to stop gambling being portrayed as ‘harmless fun’.
There should also be mandatory health warnings on all gambling ads, stricter controls on digital and social media marketing, and a full ban on gambling promotion in stadiums and sports venues to protect children and young people from harm," Osmond said, urging the government to do more, especially now that it is the government that will take over the responsibilities of GambleAware.
Gambling ads need to go, argues GambleAware’s latest survey
The survey also looked into how gambling ads are affecting children and analyzed the exposure of young children to gambling products. Overall, 91% of people support a ban on gambling ads on TV and in video games, and 90% also want to see such a theoretical ban replicated across social media.
Whatever the course of action is, argues GambleAware, the government must restrict gambling marketing and content online, as it has been tied to the highest incidence of children becoming addicted to the product. In fact, GambleAware previously released a separate study in early September, highlighting how children are exposed to gambling through influencer marketing and content online.
YouGov Associate Director Kate Gosschalk has similarly said that the new data was drawn from a substantial sample of 18,000 people in addition to interviewing people with a gambling problem.
"The new data provides valuable insight about gambling harm, including an increase in the number of people seeking support/treatment over the past five years," Gosschalk wrapped up.
