The impacts of severe gambling pose similar threats to a person's physical and mental wellbeing as a chronic health condition or alcohol and illegal drug use, a new study suggests.
The research found that experiencing gambling harm can result in a 16% reduction in a person's ability to carry out everyday tasks (referred to in the study as their capability wellbeing), and a 14% reduction in their quality of life (referred to as their health utility).
The percentages are comparable to those experiencing the highest levels of harm driven by cocaine and alcohol use, as well as those with health conditions including depression and opiate dependence.
Spouses, children, parents, families and close friends also experience substantial "second-hand" harms, the research found, with impacts on their health and wellbeing approaching those experienced by the people who gamble themselves.
And while cases of severe gambling harms (for example, those experiencing major relationship breakdowns and/or financial crisis) are the most affected individually, the largest share of population harm comes from low and moderate-severity gambling harms (from experiencing low mood and day-to-day financial issues because of their gambling) because they are far more common.
The work was led by academics at the University of Plymouth, in collaboration with the University of Bristol, the National Centre for Social Research and others working across the sector.
It was funded as part of the Gambling Commission's Regulatory Settlement Fund and represents the first comprehensive effort to measure and understand the true extent of gambling-related harms in Great Britain through a public health lens.
The researchers involved say their results show how tools currently used to identify "problem gambling" underestimate the full extent of harm it causes to individuals and those close to them.
They also say gambling should be placed on an equal footing with other public health priorities, enabling it to be included in mainstream prevention, commissioning, and policy decision-making strategies.
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