A recent study from GambleAware has some bad news for regulated operators about the current state of problem gambling in the UK, but contained a ray of hope for gambling addicts. The report found that, thanks to the pandemic, problem gambling is on the rise but the number of problem gamblers seeking treatment is up significantly, too.
The report, titled Treatment and Support, is based on a survey of 19,000 UK adults on their gambling habits. Researchers found that approximately 2.4 percent of all UK adults would fall under the label of problem gambler. But the survey also found a big spike in the number of those folks labelled as problem gamblers who were willing to seek help. During their last survey, only about 54 percent of respondents were open to the idea of seeking help while 63 percent fell into that category this year.
The good news, regarding treatment anyways, is that not only are more problem gamblers willing to go to treatment, more of them actually are seeking treatment. According to the report, there’s been a ten percent spike in the number of players seeking treatment for problem gambling in the UK.
In a statement reported on by SBC News, Zoë Osmond, CEO of GambleAware summed up the situation saying, “It is encouraging to see a year-on-year increase in those classified as ‘problem gamblers’ seeking help, especially during the pandemic.
“These results will be used to help inform GambleAware’s new commissioning strategy as we continue our work to increase provision of and access to services.”
The question now is whether or not a spike in problem gamblers, whether they’re seeking treatment or not, will create new regulations for gambling operators.