Marc Etches, CEO of GambleAware, described the independent charity’s first research into female gambling as an “important first step” in understanding the different ways men and women are affected by problem gambling.

The research found that 35% of women problem gamblers (those with a PGSI score of 8+) were from black, asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds, while 20% of women gamblers (those with a PGSI score of 1+) were from this demographic.

GambleAware also found that perceived stigma was a barrier to treatment for female problem gamblers. For those female gamblers who said they would not want treatment, 39% said this was due to feeling embarrassed or not wanting people to know about their gambling.

Out of the overall female problem gamblers, 19% also identified as an ‘affected other’ – someone who experiences harm as a result of someone else’s gambling. In total, 8% of surveyed women fell into this category with 16% from a BAME background.

The two online surveys were conducted in partnership with YouGov with a sample size of more than 1 million adults in the UK.

Marc Etches, CEO of GambleAware, commented on the results: “This research indicates that women, particularly in the capacity of an affected other, experience gambling harms in different ways to men and this report is an important first step in understanding those differences.”