According to the gambling support group GamCare, the number of women seeking help for problems rose 6 percent last year. The agency, which trains healthcare organizations in how to deal with gambling harm, credits its own women’s program for having more come forward with issues.
In the last year, GamCare has delivered training to 918 healthcare organizations across the U.K. The charity claims 97 percent of healthcare professionals understood how problem gambling impacts women, with 96 percent saying they are able to identify a woman suffering from gambling-related harms following training.
As many as one million women are believed to be at risk of gambling harm in the U.K., according to iGaming Business.
For women, access to support opportunities is vital. Women may be disproportionately affected by gambling-related harms, including financial, relationship and mental health issues.
An independent evaluation report produced by inFocus Consulting found that 85 percent of GamCare women’s program participants improved their understanding of gambling-related harm. This included how to best conclude who needs support.
Before training, 81 percent of healthcare professionals successfully identified all risk factors associated with problem gambling in women. This jumped to 87 percent after training. These figures expect to get better as more and more health care workers become aware.
“I think it’s just getting out there in public. When we look at mental health, it’s screamed about everywhere, but nobody says that sometimes the causation of these mental health problems might be gambling… particularly when it comes to women,” a GamCare statement said.
