Bristol gambling centre to improve treatment for addicts

The centre will receive £4m over five years from the charity BeGambleAware

A £4m centre to study the impact of gambling has opened in Bristol.

The Gambling Harms Research Centre (GHRC) at the University of Bristol seeks to increase understanding and awareness of the dangers of gambling.

It is funded by the charity BeGambleAware, which says gambling has returned to pre-pandemic levels, with 1.4m people experiencing the negative effects of gambling.

Chief executive Zoë Osmond called the hub a "major step forward".

"We are incredibly excited by the long-term benefits that this work will bring by driving new public health approaches to reduce gambling harms for a wide range of communities," she added.

The charity said the cost of living crisis and increase in people gambling online meant more people could be at risk of experiencing the negative impacts of gambling.

Professor Agnes Nairn said the coronavirus lockdowns drove a lot of people to online gambling

The centre's co-director Agnes Nairn, Pro Vice-Chancellor of global engagement and professor of marketing, said it is estimated that more than 50,000 children aged 11-16 have gambling problems.

"That's the most horrifying statistic for me," she said.

She said the rise of online gambling had become "worse and worse" in recent years.

"I think the advent of social media had a big impact on the sheer volume of gambling that there is and the directed advertising that comes straight to someone.

"If you are someone who's got issues with gambling you are more likely to see more adverts," she added.

The "first-of-its-kind" academic centre hopes to improve support and treatment for gambling issues through its "public health approach".

'Desperately needed'

It said it would address questions such as how gambling was practiced, what initiates harmful gambling, and the role social inequalities play in exacerbating gambling harms.

Prof Nairn said: "We desperately need interdisciplinary research on a large scale to truly understand the complexities of gambling harm as a serious, current public health issue.

"Our aim is to attract the very best international researchers from computer scientists to anthropologists to work with us."

Co-director Sharon Collard said the research could "make a real difference in preventing and reducing gambling harms"

The university, which has a record of researching gambling issues, will integrate research from six facilities, spanning disciplines including personal finance, psychology and economic and human geography.

The GHRC will work closely with several other establishments, including the Bristol Digital Futures Institute, the Bristol Poverty Institute, and the Bristol Population Health Science Institute.

The announcement comes ahead of the publication of the Government's review of legislation introduced under the Gambling Act 2005.

Gambling Minister Chris Philp said he welcomed the research, adding: "We are currently undertaking our own comprehensive review to ensure that the protections in place to prevent harm are right for the digital age."