GambleAware awards £300,000 grant for new research into lived experiences of minority communities around gambling harms

GambleAware has announced the outcome of its recent grant award process to improve knowledge of the lived experiences of minority communities – including minority ethnic, religion, and language groups – in relation to gambling and gambling harms.

The grant was awarded through a competitive process to two consortia: one led by Ipsos MORI and supported by researchers at the University of Manchester; and a second led by ClearView Research. Ipsos MORI will lead the research overall. The 18-month programme will harness the consortia’s strong understanding of the research aims, the communities themselves, and the underlying factors that can drive or exacerbate gambling harms amongst marginalised and socially excluded communities. The specific objectives of the research are to:

1. Explore minority communities’ lived experience of gambling, gambling harms, and gambling advice and information, support, and treatment services
2. Explore the drivers of gambling harms among minority communities in Great Britain, building on international research
3. Identify the services, interventions, and policies necessary to reduce and prevent gambling harms among these communities

In recognition of the importance of this research, and the ambition of the collaborative consortium, GambleAware increased the grant award to £300,000, up from the £250,000 specified in the original call for proposals.

The final research report will be published in 2023, but interim reports will be available earlier. These will inform GambleAware’s wider five-year strategy that aims to achieve a society free from gambling harms for all communities.

Dr Jay St.John Levy, Research Lead at GambleAware, said: “The experiences of minority communities around gambling are at present under-researched in Great Britain, yet evidence suggests that these groups are more likely to experience harm from gambling, and less likely to access gambling treatment services, compared with white communities.

“We are very pleased to award this grant to these two consortia who together bring considerable expertise focussing on people’s nuanced lived realities. This will help explore why these communities experience a greater burden of harm, and how to break down the barriers preventing them from accessing services.

“This research will better ensure that GambleAware and others can commission a broad range of treatment and support services that work for minority ethnic, language, and religious communities. It is therefore an important step towards reducing the current inequalities in gambling harms.”