Wales Union Learning Fund helps probation officers learn about gambling-related harms

There are an estimated 30,000 ‘problem gamblers’ in Wales. The financial, health, and social impact of these harms extends far beyond the gambler. From affected others such as families, friends, and colleagues, to victims of gambling-related crime through theft, fraud, or domestic abuse.

Over the last decade, much has been done to upskill workers within the probation service to identify and signpost support for drug and alcohol dependencies. The shift stems from the need to take a rehabilitation approach to those caught in the criminal justice system, facing addictions. There is a consensus within the probation service that without addressing dependencies- you are not able to tackle secondary harms or reduce chances of reoffending.

This pilot, which has been partnered through NAPO and the Welsh Probation Service, aims to start the same conversations around the approach to problem gambling.

The Wales Union Learning Fund has been a key player in trying to change this

What is the Wales Union Learning Fund (WULF)?

The Wales Union Learning Fund, provided by Welsh Government, is there to support workers to learn and upskill through their trade unions.

WULF works by targeting and accessing unionised, organised workplaces and workers. Union reps and officials work in partnership with managers, providers, learners and stakeholders to provide life changing assistance and learning packages.
WULF has been an instrumental contributor to enable this pilot to take place, and provide the insight and understanding to upskill workers on gambling related harm.

How much are we betting on?

Across the UK, 59 per cent of adults have gambled in the last year, with 46 per cent of those doing so in the last 4 weeks. What’s more, 1.3 million teenagers are gambling with their own money, with 78 per cent of those doing it for fun. Despite its commonplace, the implications for those struggling from problem gambling are huge.

The term “hidden addiction” refers to the lack of physical symptoms associated with addictions to drugs or alcohol. Indicators such as: constant shortages of money, mood swings, agitation, neglect of family, borrowing of money, or increase in secretiveness could all be tied to problem gambling.

For probation workers, being able to spot these signs is key to taking action, and the stakes are massive. Every day, 1-2 people take their own life due to gambling-related harm.

During the training, one probation worker confessed that they had not yet come across a service user who admitted to participating in problem gambling, despite a consensus amongst the group that gambling was an issue for the communities they worked in.

The training challenged ideas about who and why people face the criminal justice system due to gambling.  It opened new frameworks and ideas to ask questions, raise awareness or spot symptoms that could indicate a sign of problem gambling.

The power of listening to those with lived experience

For probation workers, listening is part and parcel of the job. It’s a powerful tool to make change both for individual service users and for wider communities.

The training, which was run by GAMLearn, is always taught by those with lived experience of gambling-related crime. Those who have undertaken the course will have learned not just the impact of the crime on all those affected, but the steps that lead those individuals to commit that crime in the first place.

GAMLearn argue that problem gambling should be taught for what it is: a mental condition that alters the way the brain functions. GAMLearn states that by doing so, they can empower workers to understand the whole approach to rehabilitation, from financial support to treatment services.

For many, there is an assumption that gambling is about quick access to money. The training, which included the lived experience of a lottery winner and those with good jobs, proved this is far from the reality.

Call it Problem Dopamine

How we view the cause of problem gambling, matters.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter in the brain released during enjoyable activities such as eating, sex and drugs.  It’s also released during situations where the reward is uncertain, like a thrill, or a lead up to a potential win. It’s this ‘anticipation effect’ that GAMLearn educate learners as to how people become addicted.

Problem gambling becomes an impulsive control disorder.

The positive is that this brain chemistry can be rebalanced with effective treatment. Probation workers can make a key difference in the lives and communities of those at risk of gambling-related harm.

When viewed as the impulsive control disorder, there is likely to be a change in how it is treated by workers, services or communities.

Supporting affected others

Probation workers create pathways for service users to live better lives. They also change the lives of affected others. The course deep-dived into the potential impact of this, hearing directly from those who have been in such positions.

For example, data signals the link between domestic violence and problem gambling.  What may present as a domestic violence case, could also be linked to an underlying gambling problem for a service user. Without addressing the dependency on gambling, addressing domestic violence is much harder.

Learners were able to ask questions to the trainers around their support network, the support they may wish they had been given, or any changes that could have helped their situation. For probation workers who had not come across gambling cases prior to this, the pilot was able to provide valuable experience in a safe environment.

Feeding the Machine: Gambling and AI

The experience of gambling is changing for users.

The multi-billion industry is using digital technology to tailor the experience of gambling. Algorithms and AI are tailoring ads, games and betting to meet people where they are, making it much harder to stay away from. Alarmingly, algorithms can be used as a tool to identify where someone may be vulnerable to problem gambling, and essentially focus on promoting it to them.

The case was made during the training that as technology develops, workers must be provided opportunity to expand their skills to understand how changes are impacting services users, and what to do about it when they come across it.

A future opportunity for WULF to play its essential part in worker development.

Conclusion – partnership working, works

This pilot through the Wales Union Learning Fund is an example of how the partnership working between trade unions and employers creates better outcomes for workers, services and local communities. This pilot initiative is a key driver of the cultural changes of workplaces, led by trade unions is supporting better workplaces and better services.

You can find more information about the Wales Union Learning Fund here: Wales Union Learning Fund (WULF) projects | TUC

Learn more about Problem Gambling with our toolkit here