Tackling Gambling Harms
The Tackling Gambling Harms project, led by the University of Birmingham, is a research study aiming to reduce the harms caused by gambling in the UK using a public health approach.
Rather than seeing gambling as just an individual issue, this approach looks at the wider picture. It brings together experts from areas like health, law, psychology, and social policy to understand how gambling affects people, families, and communities.
The project’s main goals are to:
- Check the laws: See if current and new gambling rules are protecting people and working fairly for all groups.
- Measure the damage: Use data and a large UK survey to understand the scale of harm, such as debt, mental health problems, and relationship breakdowns, especially in overlooked communities.
- Find what works: Work with experts, charities, and people with lived experience to identify the best ways to measure harm and improve support systems.
The project is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and involves people with personal experience of gambling harm to help guide the research.