Tanya Davidson & Annie Carroll
Centre for Gambling Research, School of Sociology

1 - 2pm on Monday 7 November in the Larry Saha Room (HA2175)

In a recent survey, we found that only about 1 in 5 people with gambling problems had ever received professional help for their problems.  Further, there was worrying evidence that having suicidal thoughts was the main factor distinguishing those who had received help from those who had not. The obvious questions arising from this research are: (1) why do so few people with gambling problems get help? and (2) why is help not sought until problems are so extreme?  Surprisingly, there is a lack of research on these questions. Therefore, the key objectives of this study were to establish what kind of people get help for gambling problems and what kind of people do not get help, and to investigate pathways and barriers to receiving services.
 

First, information from the 2009 ACT Gambling Prevalence Survey was used to shed light on people reporting problem gambling symptom who do and do not seek help. Amongst people reporting any symptoms, (i) only 8% had ever accessed services for gambling problems, (ii) most (69%) did not self-identify that they might have a problem or seek help and (iii) a quarter identified that they might have a problem.  This presentation will provide a description of these three groups and their importance from a population health perspective.
 

Second, we interviewed service providers and people who identified as having problems with their gambling who had contact with services in the ACT. People were more likely to seek help for the consequences of their gambling, like relationship issues, money problems or co-occurring problems such as substance abuse, before seeking help for their gambling problems. Better identification and engagement of people with problems who seek help for other problems may provide opportunities for earlier intervention.