GambleAware reveals lower support utilization in Scotland
A recent GambleAware study has highlighted that compared to the UK average, fewer people access gambling support in Scotland.
The access rates of various gambling help services in Scotland not only fell short of the average of 21% across the UK, but they were also the lowest out of all of the United Kingdom’s countries. GambleAware found that only 17% of Scottish gamblers who were experiencing issues with their gambling utilized help or treatment services offered by the charity.
The study also examined the gambling help access rates of various major Scottish cities, which highlighted that gambling harm was most prominent in Glasgow. Other cities in the northern part of the UK with similarly high levels of gambling harm prominence included Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and Dundee.
The most common reason for Scottish people seeking help was financial hardship, with almost 30% of all local gamblers who accessed gambling support services mentioning this reason. The charity reported the likelihood of them being concerned with losing their homes or jobs was lower, with only 13% of people mentioning this reason.
Lastly, GambleAware also mentioned in the findings of its study that Scotland had a marginally higher participation rate of 60.5% for the pastime than the average of the United Kingdom at 60.3%, which amounts to a total of around 2.7 million people.