“When You’re There, But Not There”; GambleAware targeting women aged 18-54

GambleAware, on their mission to keep people safe from gambling harms, has launched a National Gambling Treatment Service campaign in Great Britain targeting women aged 18-54. This is the first campaign that targets women to promote treatment and support for gambling harms.

The campaign is part of a campaign that since the beginning of 2020 has now run across three bursts of activity targeting 25-55-year-old men and has been launched following recent research on women and gambling harms that was commissioned by GambleAware.

Purpose of the campaign is to drive awareness of support and signpost women who are either at risk of or are already experiencing gambling harms, to the National Gambling Treatment Service.

Research has shown that 10% of women in Great Britain experience some level of gambling harm and that women are more likely to be an “affected other”, an individual that suffers on account of a loved one’s gambling, with 8% being identified as such compared to 6% of men.

Previously, the campaign has only targeted men. However, evidence suggests that women would benefit from this campaign noting that:

• The number of women experiencing gambling harms has increased over the last decade.
• Women are more likely to be an ‘affected other’ than men.
• Demand for treatment and support/advice is higher among female gamblers with higher PGSI scores (higher amongst younger and minority ethnic female gamblers).
• For female ‘problem gamblers’, stigma was identified a key barrier to accessing treatment, support or advice to cut down their gambling. Two in five (39%) female ‘problem gamblers’ perceived stigma as a barrier (vs 22% when compared to men).
• Younger female gamblers were both more likely than older female gamblers, and men of the same age, to have sought treatment and/or support/advice in order to cut down their gambling.

Like previous campaigns, the campaign creative focuses on the all-consuming nature of gambling with the inclusion of the line “when you’re there, but not there”. The content draws upon the insight that people with gambling problems feel disconnected from their family and friends and is based on promoting confidence that treatment is easy to access and will help them overcome their struggles with gambling.

GambleAware Communications and Engagement Director, Zoë Osmond adds: “Following the success of the previous campaign, we are continuing with our targeted approach to make sure women are not overlooked in the drive to raise awareness of gambling treatment and support. These findings highlight an increase in women suffering from gambling harm, and we hope this campaign will help to signpost those experiencing harms to the help that is available.”

The campaign is live across digital channels alongside radio and magazines until the end of March 2021.