Gambling Harm and Offenders: A survey of prisoners’ experiences

The survey of prisoners’ experiences of gambling, the first of its kind in England and Wales, was conducted by The Forward Trust and took place in 14 prisons during August and September 2020. While 4 per cent of respondents outlined that their gambling directly contributed to the reason they are in prison, and 2 per cent outlined that their crime or lifestyle drove them to gamble, many others identified gambling as the cause of major problems in their life – 5 per cent had lost their job due to their gambling, 11 per cent had experienced relationship issues, and 14% had experienced debt.