By Dr Jamie Wheaton and Ben Ford
The prevention of gambling harms requires many different approaches, and the co-operation of many different stakeholders, including (but not limited to) researchers, charities, treatment providers and policymakers. Gambling harms can be classified in different ways, but our framework uses a previous classification of gambling harms as resource harms (for example, loss of money or assets), relationship harms, and health harms. Harms which do not fall into these categories could also be categorised as ‘non-specific harms’.
While there are many frameworks that detail how to prevent or reduce gambling harms, or how harms can be measured, there are no frameworks that can help to promote collaboration between these stakeholders and map where approaches to prevent gambling harms can be most effective.
The Hub has developed a framework, recently published in PLOS ONE, that can help to encourage collaboration between stakeholders, map existing research, initiatives or interventions, and allow stakeholders to identify where these are most needed.
The Framework
The framework emerged from research that explored public health approaches to the prevention or reduction of harms from gambling, tobacco, products high in fat, salt and sugar, and alcohol.
The framework is derived from four key factors which we will briefly explore in turn:
- goals that lead to the prevention or reduction of harms;
- the overarching groups of strategies that can achieve these goals;
- the types of gambling harms that can be prevented or reduced through the achievement of these goals; and
- the levels of society at which strategies can be targeted.
The research indicated three goals that – when achieved – can lead to the prevention or reduction of harms. These goals were identified as the ‘prevention’ of harms from occurring in the first instance; the ‘regulation’ of the industry or its products; and ‘support’ for those experiencing gambling harms, including those harmed by another person’s gambling.
Additionally, we found that these goals could be achieved through three broad groups of strategies. These were defined as ‘education and awareness’ strategies that introduce an understanding or awareness of gambling harms; ‘screening, measurement and intervention’ strategies that seek to identify and measure the scale of gambling harms as well as provide interventions to reduce the harms; and an understanding of how the ‘environments and products’ can lead to gambling harms.
These strategies and goals can also overlap, meaning individual initiatives or interventions that consist of one or more strategy type, can be targeted towards one or more of the goals. We contend that strategies mapped against this framework will prevent or reduce gambling harms.
These strategies for reducing harm can be targeted at different levels of society. They can be targeted towards societies as a whole, specific groups or communities, families and friends of those experiencing harms, and the individual themselves. These aspects when combined create a framework which can foster collaboration between stakeholders, allowing them to map previous research or initiatives to a particular area of interest, and to identify gaps where future research or initiatives are most needed.
How the framework can be used
To illustrate how this framework could be used, we give some potential examples on how it could help to inform future approaches to prevent or reduce gambling harm.
At the societal level, previous research tells us that the framing of messaging around ‘responsible gambling’ or ‘safer gambling’ is unlikely to alter gambling behaviours. Research also tells us that changing the environment – for example, altering the design of gambling-related products – is more likely to reduce harm at a societal level. Recent developments in the sector provide evidence of collaboration in these areas, such as the reduction of maximum stakes for online slots games, the introduction of a slower speed of play, or the promise of centrally-developed messaging on gambling harms made in the White Paper.
Stakeholders may be interested in exploring how to prevent or reduce gambling harms for certain groups. For example, existing research tells us that those with the least economic resources are more likely to experience gambling harms, while gambling harms also disproportionately impact minority ethnic groups. The framework can help them identify strategies such as:
- developing ‘education and awareness’ programmes aimed at specific groups in order to improve their awareness of the risks of engaging with certain gambling products,
- developing ‘screening, measurement and intervention’ schemes to provide support for those experiencing harms and to track the prevalence of gambling harms at community level. Such strategies would help achieve the goals of ‘prevention’ and ‘support’.
- enacting regulation relating to ‘environment and product’, whether through the regulation of marketing in the local area, or managing the positioning, and number of, land-based gambling outlets in specific areas.
Stakeholders such as local treatment providers, local authorities, and charities could use the framework to collaborate and to map previous or similar strategies which have been developed for other groups. They could also use the framework to develop and deploy strategies to prevent harms amongst the specific groups, and then to evaluate the progress of such strategies.
At the level of family and friends, possible strategies may be to raise awareness that gambling harms can affect not only the person who gambles but also their relationships. The framework could therefore help those interested in this area by:
- exploring how awareness around the harms and stigma possibly experienced by family and friends could be raised (through ‘education and awareness’ strategies),
- ensuring that those who are being harmed by – or are concerned about – a loved one’s gambling behaviour has access to sufficient support.
The mapping of these strategies represents an overlap of the goals of ‘support’ and ‘prevention’, developing awareness and reducing the stigma around gambling harms that may be experienced by family and friends, as well as providing the support to those who need it. Additionally, stakeholders such as researchers, treatment providers and charities may use the framework to target such approaches over local or more national levels.
Finally, the framework highlights how strategies can be targeted towards the individual. As highlighted above, focusing specifically on the individual when trying to reduce gambling harms can be stigmatising and can also detract from the harmful nature of products. Strategies developed within the framework could therefore explore:
- how centrally-developed messaging is received at the individual level in a way which is not stigmatising (education and awareness),
- how treatment is more accessible (screening, measurement and intervention),
- how an individual’s behaviour is impacted by modifications of the gambling environment (environment and product), such as marketing or specific products.
These are some broad examples of how the framework could be used, and many other approaches could be mapped against and developed within the framework. In summary, the framework has the ability to bring together numerous stakeholders to explore how best to prevent or reduce gambling harms for a wide range of people. Developing initiatives can be mapped against previous research or approaches, to allow stakeholders to best target future initiatives where they most prevent or reduce harms in the future.