National Gambling Treatment Service Campaign

Background to the campaign

• Treatment penetration for gambling disorder is currently low – estimated to be at just 1-2% [1].
• The Treatment Needs & Gap Analysis research indicates that there is strong demand for treatment and support amongst people suffering gambling harm. Evidence also suggests that if there was more awareness of the support that is available, it would motivate people to seek treatment [2].
• The National Gambling Treatment Service campaign seeks to promote self-referrals amongst those who are high risk of, or are currently experiencing, gambling disorder by directing them to the National Gambling Helpline and online support at GambleAware.org.

GambleAware launched a new campaign during February and March 2020 to raise awareness of the treatment available through the National Gambling Treatment Service, now known as the National Gambling Support Network. The campaign ran on digital media, radio, pubs, motor way service stations, in GP surgeries and health publications. The campaign aims to drive the audience to call the National Gambling Helpline or visit the National Gambling Support Network landing page – gambleaware.org/NGSN.

The National Gambling Support Network 

The National Gambling Support Network, formerly known as 'The National Gambling Treatment Service' works with, and alongside, the National Health Service. It is free at the point of delivery, provides telephone, online and face-to-face treatment for individuals and groups, across Great Britain. Self-referrals through the 24/7 National Gambling Helpline are the main route for accessing the treatment, which is provided by a network of NHS trusts and voluntary sector organisations.

The National Gambling Treatment Service Campaign

The campaign has now run across five bursts of activity targeting 25-55-year-old men (with a specific focus on men aged 25-34 years old):

• Burst 1: 1st Feb - 30th April 2020 – across digital, radio, out of home (OOH) & healthcare publications 
• Burst 2: 6th July - 31st August 2020 – across digital, radio and print media (regional and national)
• Burst 3: 10th December 2020 - 31st January 2021 – across digital, radio and print media. The targeting for the third burst is based on the Treatment Needs and Gap Analysis research and interactive map of gambling prevalence PGSI 1-7 and PGSI 8+ at local authority level across Britain. The maps identified London and East/West Midlands as areas of high risk which should be focused on.
• Burst 4: 26th July - 22nd August 2021 – across digital, radio, out of home (OOH) & print media with regional upweights in London and East and West Midlands. These upweighted areas were again based on the Treatment Needs and Gap Analysis research and interactive map of gambling prevalence PGSI 1-7 and PGSI 8+ at local authority level across Britain.
• Burst 5: 22nd March - 10th May 2022 - across digital, radio & digital audio & print media with regional upweights in London and the North West. These upweighted areas were again based on the Treatment Needs and Gap Analysis research and interactive map of gambling prevalence PGSI 1-7 and PGSI 8+ at local authority level across Britain. Activity also ran across Pulse & The BJGP targeting Healthcare Professionals. A separate landing page exists for the Healthcare Professionals audience - gambleaware.org/referring-national-gambling-treatment-service

The campaign has also run one burst specifically targeting women aged 18-54 running across digital channels alongside radio and magazines from January 2021-March 2021.

All bursts of activity have been monitored with a Tracking Study conducted by Ipsos MORI. A summary of the most recent Tracking Study results can be viewed here.

Campaign for: End Users

Campaign for: Healthcare Professionals

[1] GambleAware estimate based on Health Survey number of ‘problem gamblers’ and GambleAware information on number of people in treatment.
[2] 'Treatment Gap Analysis’ research can be found here.

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