SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
GambleAware has published new ‘data maps’ indexing problem gambling harms across UK local authorities and parliamentary constituencies, to help the stakeholders of the National Gambling Support Network (NGSN).
The maps, produced by PoliMapper, reveal regions with high levels of gambling harm and increased need for support and treatment. The data is based on the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) to visually represent gambling harm in different areas.
As the commission charity for gambling harm prevention and treatment services, GambleAware cites that it seeks to provide NGSN stakeholders with a ‘screening tool’ visually highlighting PGSI indexes within local areas.
A visualisation of PGSI at a local level is needed to enhance GambleAware and the NGSN’s regional-first approach to ensure local access to support those affected by gambling harms.
The maps for local authorities and parliamentary constituencies index data collected in November 2022 from GambleAware’s “Annual Great Britain Treatment and Support Survey”.
Researchers are provided five Map categories, which display the latest gambling prevalence percentage in the UK, and reference both usage and demand for gambling treatment and support. They also illustrate the relative usage and demand for these services based on PGSI categories.
Furthermore, under a search tab, GambleAware provides an individual profile of the context of problem gambling harms and estimated fiscal costs impacting each local district or constituency.
GambleAware outlined its support of the collective ambition for NGSN local support providers to third and public sectors for a unified, person-centric support system to minimise gambling harms.
The continued development of the NGSN, sees GambleAware intensify its campaigns nationwide and collaborating with local authorities for improved treatment and support accessibility.
