Unit researchers held a webinar today presenting the findings of a study – identifying gambling harms to individuals and affected others in adult social care. Professor Heather Wardle (University of Glasgow) discussed how researchers developed questions tailored for social care and piloted them in three local authorities in different service areas (single point of access teams, safeguarding, learning disabilities and debt and welfare support). One hundred and sixty-one people attend the webinar, including local authority staff, policymakers, people with lived experience (PwLE) and representatives from gambling support charities.

Caroline Norrie chaired the meeting, and post-presentation discussions involved how stigma around asking about gambling harm can be overcome, normalising asking about gambling as can be done in relation to drugs and alcohol, and whole-systems approaches in local authorities to tackle gambling harms.

Video recording of the webinar (YouTube, 56 mins)

Two questions have been developed for asking about gambling harms to individuals and affected others. For these, and for free staff training for social care staff (guidance, slides and a video) please visit the study website at King's or GamCare.

The study was undertaken together with GamCare, the UK’s largest gambling support charity, and with PwLE support from BetKnowMore charity.

Please get in touch with caroline.norrie@kcl.ac.uk if you would like more information on this work. The final report from the study is under review.