Background information

Gambling is the act of playing a game of chance for a prize such as money, or betting on a future outcome of an event. 54% of the adult population gambled in 2018, with forms including scratch cards, the National Lottery, online gambling and gambling-like activities in gaming.

Public Health England’s 2023 review estimates that 0.5% of the British adult population have a problem with gambling, and 3.8% are gambling at levels of elevated risk. 7% of the adult population are negatively affected by other people’s gambling.

Gambling can cause harm to all ages and genders in Shropshire. This can be directly due to financial stresses, relationship breakdowns, and mental and physical health harms. It can also cause harm indirectly, through employment and educational harms, and the normalisation of gambling in daily life. As such, The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that gambling is screened for in consultations, in the same way as smoking and alcohol consumption. NICE stresses that this is especially important in patient encounters involving poor mental health, ADHD, PTSD and in those patients taking medications that can affect impulse control.

NICE provides up-to-date guidance for healthcare professionals on the identification, assessment and management of gambling-related harms.