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Let's Open Up About Gambling: Stigma reduction campaign evaluation

Author: GambleAware (Dan Riley; Senior Research Lead for Communications & Policy) Published: November 2024
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Summary

This paper summarises the execution and evaluation of the ‘Let’s Open Up About Gambling’ stigma reduction campaign launched by GambleAware on the 21st November 2023.

Topics covered

  • Introduction to campaign approach and aims 
  • Campaign strategy and execution 
  • Evaluation approach and methodology 
  • Key results and impact measures 
  • Key learnings and next steps 

Key findings

  • Overall, the stigma reduction campaign continued to build on the first burst and showed a number of strong results.  
  • The campaign achieved high reach and recognition, especially among the behaviour change audience (those aged 18-44 scoring 3+ on the PGSI). 
  • The creative had clear messaging and conveyed key narratives (e.g., importance of opening up about gambling harms, gambling harms can affect anyone) and resonated with the target audience. 
  • The campaign resulted in a high level of reported behaviour change (94% of the target audience that recognised the campaign claimed to take action, with the most commonly reported actions being reducing or stopping gambling).  
  • The campaign was also found to encourage individuals to open up about gambling (e.g., increased reports of conversations, increased traffic to National Gambling Helpline) and seek support (e.g., increased visits to the GambleAware website and the National Gambling Support Network).  
  • Societal stigma remains high, showing more work is needed by all stakeholders in the sector to challenge deep-rooted attitudes. 

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