GambleAware is taking a closer look at how its products impact members of the country’s various minority groups as part of its ongoing efforts to curb problem gambling. They recently published the results of some new research on the subject and the findings are disturbing. Britain’s minority groups suffer from problem gambling rates that are wildly disproportionate to their numbers in the general population.
The study was conducted by psos UK, and ClearView Research, with assistance from the University of Manchester and found serious disparities almost every place it looked. For starters, only about 31 percent of minority group members gamble at all, compared to about 48 percent of those identified as white – and that’s where the good news ends. About 42 percent of those minority gamblers will experience some form of problem gambling versus only around 20 percent of those non-minority gamblers.
This particular group of players tends to use gambling as a coping mechanism at rates that far outstrip the rest of British players. GambleAware found that 18 percent of minority players gamble in this versus just six percent of caucasian players. Abouto nine percent of these folks say they would like to limit their gambling, but can’t, versus only about one percent of the white players.
GambleAware CEO, Zoë Osmond commented on the study saying,“The higher prevalence of gambling harms amongst Minority groups, coupled with the fact they are less likely to access specialist gambling services, is alarming and demonstrates the clear need for further investigation and tailored solutions. We need to break down the barriers to accessing support, and challenge the stigma and discrimination faced by these communities.”
Osmond added that more research would be needed to determine exactly what accounts for the massive disparities, adding that services could and should be tailored to address this problem in the short term.