Gambling-related harm

We are identifying those at risk of gambling related harm

The Background

Gambling (which may be defined as wagering on an uncertain outcome, usually for money) is as old as time itself. While many people enjoy an occasional bet on the football or a trip to the casino without experiencing any adverse consequences, some people do find it difficult to limit their gambling.

The method

Our research aims to identify those who may be at risk of gambling related harm, to investigate the neuro-behavioural mechanisms underlying the onset and maintenance of gambling problems, and to find ways of developing innovative forms of clinical treatment.

We adopt a translational perspective in which gambling problems or specific features of gambling games are modelled experimentally in the lab to get an empirical handle on the underlying behavioural mechanisms before extension and real-world applications. We:

Use computer-simulated gambling, choice and decision-making paradigms with a range of neuroimaging measures (e.g., fMRI, MRS) in people with and without gambling problems.

Survey and interview people dealing with gambling problems and their affected others to chart the prevalence or extent of the problem with certain populations (e.g., military veterans and currently serving personnel).

Explore how best to support and maintain recovery from a gambling problem by, for instance, incentivising abstinence and the support of others.

THE IMPACT

Our work has been cited in evidence given to committees in the House of Commons, House of Lords, and Senedd Cymru.

Our work conducted by the world’s first ever Centre for Military Gambling Research (MILGAM), such as the UK Veterans Health and Gambling Study, has been cited in debates on the Armed Forces Bill, featured in annual reports of the Chief Medical Officer for Wales, the Welsh Government’s Armed Forces Covenant, and in statements from the Health Minister for Wales.

Our calls for NHS gambling clinics in Wales, published in The Lancet and Frontiers in Psychiatry, place us at the forefront of developments in how the proposed statutory levy on the gambling industry will be leveraged to fund research, prevention, and treatment.

We are part of an international network of academic researchers calling for further investment in gambling advertising research.

We lead research on harnessing digital epidemiology methods such as Google Trends as population-level indicators of harm.

Our work has been funded by GambleAware, the International Centre for Responsible Gaming, Forces in Mind Trust, The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund, Health and Care Research Wales, and others.

What our partners say

"We are delighted to be working in partnership with Professor Dymond and Swansea University in a series of projects aimed at understanding the impact of problem gambling within the military community. To date there has been a gap in our knowledge around these issues and the work being conducted is helping to plug this gap, whilst also translating findings to develop new interventions to help address problem gambling."

Professor Dominic Murphy, Head of Research, President UK Psychological Trauma Society

“The Forces in Mind Trust is proud to have been able to grant two research awards to the University of Swansea for studies entitled, “Gambling behaviour among post-national service veterans: Preliminary: evidence from the 2007 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey, England”, and “Gambling participation, financial management, and healthcare costs”. The results highlighted the high prevalence of gambling problems among a sample of UK veterans and showed that more needs to be done to help veterans seek and obtain support for their problem gambling. The findings also identified which specific groups of veterans are more vulnerable to developing problem gambling, resulting in a recommendation to MoD to implement routine screening and targeted support to benefit this group. This is exactly the kind of work FiMT relies upon to help inform our key stakeholders, from the MoD and the Office for Veteran Affairs to service providers, and policy makers in the House of Lords and House of Commons.”

Kirsteen Waller, Health Programme Manager – Forces in Mind Trust

“We were pleased to work with Swansea University on an important piece of research exploring gambling and wellbeing in the RAF. This was the first, and largest, study of its kind to determine the frequency and severity of gambling problems in the UK armed forces community. It has provided us with evidence which had not previously existed, and has led to important insights which have served to increase awareness, including running a campaign with the RAF”.

Alison Wyman, Royal Air Force