GambleAware launches new awareness initiatives

The charity GambleAware is to launch two new initiatives aimed at raising awareness of problem gambling in the UK, both among professionals who deal with the issue the most and on a wider scale.

To help equip people with the skills they need to deal with problem gambling, GambleAware has announced its intention to invest £3m in a project to deliver training to people working within certain specific fields. 

Such people would include debt advisors, faith leaders, social care workers and those working within the justice system and for housing and homelessness associations.

According to the charity, those working within these sectors are the most likely to be approached by members of the public for advice regarding the subject, but also more likely to lack the appropriate knowledge or skills to deal with the problem.

An invitation to tender is now open, with applications due in by 5th November. Qualified organisations will be invited to send in their proposals to run the scheme based on the description of the project sent out by GambleAware. The successful bidder will then have the job of providing the resources for the project, working in conjunction with the charity’s existing networks.

A statement from GambleAware said: ‘Upskilling professionals and community leaders through the new training programme will also contribute to expanding the National Gambling Treatment Service provision and promoting a whole-system, community-based approach’.

As well as this new awareness programme, GambleAware has announced a new initiative to create a network of ‘gambling education hubs’ across the country, kicking the project off with an investment of £2.5m. This project will aim to raise public awareness about what the charity refers to as ‘gambling harms’.

This second project will effectively be an extension of the existing ‘Gambling Hub Education Service’, currently in existence in Scotland, to England and Wales. The bidding process for this scheme is open until 2nd November.

Last month, GambleAware also announced the establishment of a new academic research hub, the first of its kind in the country. This will be run in partnership with a UK university.

Earlier this year, a survey commissioned by the Gambling Commission seemed to suggest that the British public were largely unaware of the availability of safer gambling tools.