Thousands of adults involved in ‘harmful’ gambling, councillors told

The first session of the city council’s scrutiny inquiry into reducing gambling-related harms in Southampton heard details of the current landscape.

A health needs assessment conducted by public health officers estimated at least between 6,160 and 31,900 adults in Southampton were engaging in harmful gambling.

These figures were based on national prevalences derived from two major national surveys.

The smaller total was based on the Health Survey for England 2021 and the other was by using the Gambling Survey for Great Britain 2023.

Harmful gambling is defined as any amount of gambling that results in people experiencing harm, problems or distress, which corresponds to a score of one or more on the Problem Gambling Severity Index screening tool.

At the opening scrutiny inquiry panel session, public health registrar Jennifer Clynes, who led on the needs assessment, said: “There is limited local data on the numbers affected by gambling-related harms, but even conservative estimates suggest significant numbers of adults experiencing harmful gambling, with a further estimated 15,400 adults affected by someone else’s gambling.”

The assessment found Coxford, Woolston, Bevois, Millbrook and Swaythling wards contained the highest numbers of neighbourhoods at greatest risk of harmful gambling in the city.

A correlation between the density of gambling premises and density was also found.

Ms Clynes added: “Only a small proportion of those affected by harmful gambling or gambling-related harms in Southampton are accessing treatment and support.

“Tackling gambling-related harms requires a broad and coordinated response, involving individual, community and place-based action.”

The inquiry also heard from a resident with lived experience of gambling-related harms, who spoke about the impact gambling had on him and his journey to recovery.

Councillors thanked the resident for talking openly about the challenges he faced and how he overcame them.

Professor Sam Chamberlain, University of Southampton’s head of academic psychiatry and the founder of the NHS Southern Gambling Service, launched the inquiry with a keynote address.

The Southern Gambling Service provides evidence-based treatment to people with gambling disorder,

Professor Chamberlain said there were “demonstrably high” levels of gambling venues in Southampton.

He told the inquiry panel there was an urgent need for public health and clinical interventions to reduce harms and impact at both a population level and in vulnerable subgroups.