According to the 2007 British Gambling Prevalence Survey, 68% of the population had gambled in the past 12 months — around 32 million adults. Only a small proportion develop a gambling problem (0.7% of the whole population in 2007) but for these people their gambling comes to harm them, their families and their communities.
RAND Europe was commissioned by the Responsible Gambling Fund to undertake a critical assessment of the available evidence on a range of issues relating to the harms of gambling. Among the topics included in the review, we looked at the effectiveness of different approaches to treating problem gambling, the impact of the location and density of gambling outlets on propensity to problem gambling, and the risk of gambling-related harm among different socioeconomic groups.
Researchers from RAND Europe examined research carried out since 2004, assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the available evidence, considering the applicability of research in other countries to the British context, and identifying gaps in the evidence base where further research is needed.
