How can technology be used to support to those affected by gambling harm?
If the stigma surrounding gambling addiction remains a great challenge (stats show that only between 2-4% of problematic gamblers seek and receive support), it is legitimate to wonder whether innovative tools can help mitigate this and other barriers, such as affordability and accessibility.
While gambling companies have been quick to embrace technology in their offerings, tools for the provision of support and information have just started to catch up. And Mindspa Health's Gambless app is likely the most popular and highest rated app emerged in the past two years, ranking in the top searches for keywords such as 'gambling addiction' and 'gambling help' in Google Play and AppStore.
With already thousands of users, the Gambless app has been praised by problem gamblers especially in the U.S.A., United Kingdom and Italy.
The latest report to review Gambless is RGC Senior Researcher Sasha Stark, PhD's paper "Gambling digital tools across the player spectrum: Promising practices & future opportunities". The work uses research literature, environmental scans of gambling and mental health digital tools, rapid assessments of tool user data, and consultations with international stakeholders to describe the ecosystem of gambling digital tools, outline promising practices, discuss barriers and areas of improvement, and propose ways to target areas of need in the field.
➤ Read the full report here: Gambling digital tools: Promising practices & future opportunities
