How GambleAware used YouGov insights to tackle gambling harms

Challenge

GambleAware sought to understand demand for treatment and support for gambling harms across GB.

Solution

YouGov’s research combined an 18,000-person survey with qualitative interviews and focus groups.

Impact

The research informed policy, marketing & regional support strategies to reduce gambling harms.

Business challenge

GambleAware commissioned YouGov to examine demand for all forms of treatment and support among those experiencing gambling harms and those affected by another’s gambling.

In recent years, the survey expanded to include ‘new’ areas of gambling, such as the experiences of former gamblers and the impact of newer gambling activities.

Solution

YouGov designed a comprehensive research program to meet GambleAware’s objectives. Central to this approach was a large scale, nationally representative survey of over 18,000 GB adults, carried out through YouGov's industry-leading panel. This allowed GambleAware to examine the experiences of people from a diverse range of backgrounds and to better understand the experiences of those most affected by gambling harm.

The quantitative survey is supplemented by 30 in-depth qualitative interviews and focus groups, which provide rich, detailed perspectives on gambling behaviour. The latest study, for example, explored the stigma experienced by gamblers and the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on gambling habits.

To balance consistency for year-on-year comparisons with flexibility to address emerging issues, YouGov uses a hybrid methodology. Core questions track long-term trends, while bespoke questions are added to tackle current challenges. This iterative approach ensures the research remains relevant and actionable.

The inclusion of multilevel regression with post-stratification (MRP) further enhances the study, delivering granular, local-level insights to help councils and organisations tailor their approaches.

Business outcomes

The study produces detailed maps of gambling harm across GB, based on the MRP, helping local councils determine how to support the unique needs of their constituencies. This encourages a regional approach to care while providing another level of data accessibility.

Further impacts of the research include:

• Influencing marketing campaigns: The Treatment & Support (T&S) survey help GambleAware refine targeting for marketing campaigns. For example, media spend has been upweighted towards groups disproportionately affected by gambling harm (e.g., London residents, 18-34, belonging to specific minority communities) and aligned with interests that over-index among core audiences such as football and gaming.
• Raising awareness of gambling harms: A GambleAware stigma campaign press release highlighted findings that 75% of those with a PGSI score of 8+ felt unable to discuss their gambling with friends or family. Regional insights, such as West Midlands data, provided a “news hook”, generating regional coverage across numerous news outlets.
• Impacting the environment: Findings from the survey were cited in the London Health Committee’s report on Gambling-related harms, which led to policy recommendations including banning gambling adverts on TfL, public health messaging and reconsidering existing licensing aims.
• Informing policy positions: Secondary data analysis has strengthened internal policy positions, showing high rate of harm among gaming machine users and the volumes of National Lottery players impacted by gambling harm.
• Building the evidence base: As one of the only surveys that collects prevalence data on affected others (people harmed by someone else’s gambling), the data is widely cited across high-profile publications including Public Health England’s review.
• Increasing transparency: The partnership with the Consumer Data Research Centre allows researchers to access the raw data, while aggregated data tables are available on the T&S survey page.

This extensive research continues to provide actionable insights, helping GambleAware make data-driven decisions to combat gambling harm effectively.