Driving Policy Change on Gambling-Related Crime

Area - Lived Experience / Policy Development

The Challenge

People experiencing gambling harm are overrepresented in the criminal justice system, yet their needs are often overlooked.

GamLEARN, a lived experience network supporting individuals impacted by gambling-related crime, sought to change this. They approached us to address three critical challenges:

1. How do we use the evidence that we gather from the experience of those we support to ensure it doesn’t happen to more people?
2. How do we centre the voices of people with lived experience in policy and legislation?
3. How can we ensure policymakers take meaningful action on gambling-related crime?

Our Approach

We worked with GamLEARN to translate lived experience into compelling, evidence-based policy recommendations that would resonate with decision-makers. However, our work went beyond incorporating lived experience. We also conducted an in-depth analysis of existing research and policy recommendations, particularly those from The Howard League Commission on Crime and Gambling-Related Harm.

By combining lived experience insights, available academic research, and policy analysis, we identified the most urgent gaps in government action and distilled them into clear, actionable priorities. This evidence was then strategically presented to key stakeholders—ensuring decision-makers could no longer ignore the need for reform in the criminal justice system’s approach to gambling-related crime.

Our work included:

• Strategic Policy Positioning – Identifying key moments for intervention, including a government review of the prison system.
• Amplifying Lived Experience – Securing an All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) session, where people with lived experience provided evidence directly to MPs.
• Action-oriented Research – Developing a policy report that linked gambling-related crime to regulatory failures, the criminal justice burden, and preventable harm.

Key Findings

• Gambling-related crime is a major driver of pressure on prisons and the justice system—yet gambling companies continue to profit while taxpayers bear the cost.
• Despite acknowledging the harms, the government has failed to act, leaving the justice system to manage gambling-related crime without systemic solutions.
• A coordinated, cross-departmental approach is needed, with clear responsibilities for the Ministry of Justice, Home Office, and health agencies to prevent and address gambling-related crime.

Impact

Our research and advocacy efforts successfully elevated gambling-related crime onto the policy agenda, ensuring lived experience voices were heard in Parliament and criminal justice policy discussions. By bridging lived experience, research, and policy advocacy, we helped GamLEARN drive momentum for change—bringing gambling-related crime into the broader debate on prison reform and regulatory accountability.

We continue to work closely with GamLEARN and look forward to sharing our next initiative for positive change later this year.

If you're facing similar challenges and need expert research, strategy, or policy support, get in touch—let’s explore how we can create impact together.