Ipsos research explores barriers to opening up about experiencing problems with gambling

The survey explored the extent to which stigma is a barrier to having a conversation about problems from gambling, and uncovered the motivations and experiences of those who chose to open up to someone about their problems. 

Overall, the findings suggest that more action should be taken to reduce the stigma around gambling harms and encourage those who have experienced problems from gambling to open up. It also shows broad support among the public for greater regulation of gambling advertising, and the impact of this on gambling behaviours. 

The findings show that:

• The majority of those experiencing problems with gambling have not opened up: almost two in three (64%) of those who have ever experienced a problem with gambling said they have not spoken to anyone about it. 
• Stigma and discrimination are key barriers to opening up about problems experienced from gambling: around two in five (39%) of those who have experienced problems with gambling say they have not spoken to someone about their experience because of reasons related to stigma and discrimination. The main barriers include feeling ashamed or guilty (17%) or worried that others would judge them (13%). Separately, a quarter (24%) have not spoken to someone as they felt able to deal with the problem themselves. Reasons relating to stigma and discrimination were higher barriers for those experiencing ‘problem gambling’ (PGSI 8+, 71%), with the top two reasons being feeling guilty and ashamed (31%), and not wanting people to know about their gambling (25%).
• There is often a delay in speaking to someone about problems experienced from gambling: two thirds (67%) of those who had spoken to someone about their problems with gambling opened up within 12 months; while just under a third (28%) waited over a year.
• However, the majority of those who have opened up felt better for doing so and wished they had spoken to someone sooner: three quarters (76%) said they felt better as a result of this, and over three in five (63%) thought they would have felt better if they had spoken to someone sooner. 
• For those who have opened up to someone, gambling was seen to be significantly impacting them: three in five (61%) felt that the problems they were experiencing with gambling were significantly impacting them. 
• There are a variety of motivations for opening up: the main motivations for speaking to someone were due to gambling negatively impacting their mental health (23%), negatively impacting finances (22%) and wanting support with reducing or stopping gambling behaviour (21%).
• Family is seen as an important source of support for those who open up: a third (34%) of those who had spoken to someone about the problems experienced from gambling, first reached out to a family member. 
• The general public largely consider most forms of gambling activity to be addictive: the gambling activity most likely to be perceived as addictive by the general public is instant win games (71%), with scratch cards rated the second most addictive (64%). Perceptions on the addictiveness of different gambling activities by those who have gambled in the last 12 months are consistent with the views of the general public. 

The second phase of findings from the research, which were released late in June in line with the EUROs, found that:

• Major sporting events are a prompt for increased gambling behaviour: a quarter (24%) of those who have gambled in the last 12 months were prompted to gamble by a big sporting event. This increases among those experiencing at least some levels of problems from gambling. However, a combination of various factors is most likely to cause an individual to gamble. 
• Most of the public agree there should be more regulations around gambling advertising: two thirds (67%) say there is currently too much advertising about gambling, and the majority are in support of more regulations related to gambling advertisement on both social media (74%) and TV (72%). Most also oppose the use of gambling logos on football merchandise collected by children (61%) and express concerns about the impact of gambling advertising on children (66%). 
• Gambling advertisements are more prompt for those who experience higher levels of problems with their gambling: around one in four (24%) of those who have gambled in the last 12 months say they have taken a gambling-related action after having seen a gambling advert. This increases to over three in four (79%) among those experiencing ‘problem gambling’ (PGSI 8+) who are 40 times more likely to have spent more time or money on gambling as a result of gambling advertisement compared to those who haven’t experienced any problems from gambling (PGSI 0). Further, around half of those experiencing ‘problem gambling’ agreeing that adverts about gambling would make it hard for them to cut down their gambling (54%) or watch a professional football game without wanting to place a bet (51%).

Technical note

Ipsos surveyed 4,207 adults aged 18-75 across Great Britain through the Ipsos iSay online panel. The fieldwork dates were 13th - 18th October 2023. The data was weighted to the known adult population of Great Britain, by age, gender and work status. The first half of this research was launched in November 2023, with this additional data made public in June 2024. 

This research builds on an earlier survey conducted in January 2023 which explored perceptions and misconceptions of stigma relating to gambling harms.