GamCare notes 6: GamCare Notes 6: GamCare Notes 6: GamCare Notes 6: GamCare Support for Women Who Want to Gamble

GamCare in Britain, which provides gambling support for women in need of it, reported that there has been a 6% rise in access to gambling assistance in the UK.  

The charity, which trains healthcare organisations, feels its GamCare Women’s Programme is likely to have positively contributed to increased numbers of women coming forward for support. 

GamCare considers it vital that all women receive support, as there are up to one-million women in UK at risk for gambling harm. GamCare cites the claims of women being disproportionately affected gambling-related injuries, such as financial, relationship, and mental health problems.

An independent evaluation report produced by inFocus Consulting found that 85% of GamCare Women’s Programme participants improved their understanding of gambling-related harm. These included how to recognize women that are gambling-relatedly in need.  

GamCare delivered training to 918 UK healthcare organizations in the past year. GamCare claims that 97% healthcare professionals understand how gambling problems can affect women. The 96% who received training claimed to be able better recognize a woman with gambling-related issues.  

GamCare reports that 81% of all healthcare professionals had identified the risk factors for problem gambling among women before they were trained. Following training, the number jumped to 87%.  

And GamCare hopes to see these figures improve, with one GamCare staff member feeling awareness of women’s gambling issues is still garnering attention. 

They said: “I think it’s just getting out there in public. When we look at mental health, it’s screamed about everywhere, but nobody says that sometimes the causation of these mental health problems might be gambling… particularly when it comes to women.”