In a recent study based on interviews with 50 individuals, researchers at the Australian National University in the capital city of Canberra found many gamblers don’t want to receive help from formal services; resist help when it’s offered; and don’t consider the amount of time they spend gambling as an indicator of gambling harm.
Project Director Dr. Marisa Fogarty said, “What we found has given us significant insight into facilitating peoples’ ability to identify gambling harm and to develop strategies and identify appropriate resources to address gambling harm.”
The report recommends a holistic intervention approach to problem gambling. “Any public heath approach that does not target all areas of the community is likely to have limited impact. We need to better target the general population, as well as the at-risk groups in society and people already experiencing gambling harm in a coordinated fashion to have any real impact in preventing and helping people experiencing gambling harm.”
The report found people with gambling problems preferred talking about their issues with partners, family and friends as opposed to professionals. “With this information, we can support close family and friends in making an approach which is more likely to be heeded, whereas we found an approach from gambling venue staff, for example, elicited strong emotions such as ‘horrified,’ ’embarrassed’ and ‘ashamed’ from people we interviewed,” Fogarty said.
Key findings from the report included:
- Messages like “Gamble responsibly” and “problem gambling” are considered stigmatizing and counter-productive.
- People experiencing gambling harms also tend to experience poor health, mental health, alcohol and other drug issues.
- People experiencing gambling harm do not tend to seek help unless their problems become extreme, affect others and have a severe financial impact.
- People believe they should deal with gambling problems themselves.
• People employed a range of strategies to stop or control gambling, like creating barriers to accessing cash, setting expenditure limits and relinquishing control of their money to a family member or friend.
