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Gambling-Related Suicide Research Programme: Announcement of funding decisions
Greo Evidence Insights would like to announce the funding decisions related to the Gambling-Related Suicide Research Programme. The goal of the programme is to fund research in the UK that will improve understanding of the links between gambling and suicide to increase the effectiveness of regulatory measures, harm reduction, prevention, postvention, and ultimately reduce the number of gambling-related suicides in the UK.
The specific details of these grants are described below.
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In the Autumn of 2023, grants were awarded to the following research projects:
Abstract:
Abstract:
Current empirical evidence on the risk factors associated with gambling-related suicide is scarce. Rarer still is evidence exploring how associations between suicidality and gambling behaviours vary among different types of gamblers. High-quality longitudinal data exploring the association between suicidality and gambling is needed, as is insight determining risk factors for suicidal ideation as strong predictor of future suicidal behaviour.
Addressing these needs, our project, first, undertakes secondary analysis of an existing longitudinal survey of regular sports bettors which assessed gambling behaviours and suicidal ideation at three time periods: June 2020; November 2020 and March 2021 (stage 1). This large sample of regular sports bettors (n=2701) also gambled on a range of other activities with diverse levels of gambling engagement. This unique data allows us to: a) explore associations between suicidal ideation and different types of gambling characteristics; b) assess how these associations change over time and c) understand the different factors that influence these associations. Analyses will use Latent Class Analysis and Fixed and Random Logit Models to assess this.
Second, we will extend insights generated from stage 1 by collecting a fourth wave of data collection from sports bettors who were included in the original sample. Adding a fourth wave (n~1400) allows us to explore how gambling behaviours, suicide ideation, and their inter-relationships operate over a longer timeframe and in a post-COVID environment. Gaps identified in stage 1 will be filled by including additional questions on mental health and other key confounders.
Combined, these two stages will improve the evidence base on the relationship between gambling and suicidal ideation among regular sports bettors by providing unique longitudinal insight of a high-risk group of gamblers. This allows the identification of the key characteristics of individuals within high-risk groups who might be at an increased risk of taking their own life.
Abstract:
Gambling-related suicide is a serious public health challenge. There is a growing body of evidence that suggests that gambling can lead to suicide, and that people who gamble at harmful levels are at an increased risk of suicide. However, the precise nature of the relationship between harmful gambling and suicide is not well understood.
Many people who die by suicide have a prior history of self-harm for which they may have attended primary or secondary treatment settings such as general practice (GP) surgeries or hospitals. Data linkage studies can provide valuable insights into the relationship between harmful gambling and suicide. By linking routinely collected data from primary and secondary care, we can identify people who are at risk of suicide and who may be struggling with gambling problems. This information can then be used to develop targeted interventions to prevent suicide and better identify those at risk.
Here, we will utilise the prestigious Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) Databank and other nationally representative linked datasets to explore relationships between contacts from primary and secondary healthcare settings and harmful gambling, mental health conditions, and addictive behaviours. This will track individual pathways through healthcare settings. We will also calculate the social and economic costs of gambling related suicide, map trajectories from healthcare settings to mortality, and examine any specific trends in vulnerable populations (members of the Armed Forces community; both those currently serving and veterans).
Our work will begin and end with rapid reviews/scoping exercises and knowledge-sharing events, respectively, aimed at identifying the key research questions and the appropriate research designs to be used to test them, the estimated social and economic costs of gambling-related suicide, and ways of evidencing pathways to impact for all stakeholders.
Gambling-Related Suicide: Knowledge Mobilisation Grants
In 2025, a call for proposals for Knowledge Mobilisation (KMb) Grants was launched in a closed competition for project teams that received research grants. The KMb Grants aim to support the overall goal of the Programme by enhancing awareness of key findings emerging from the research grants, and advancing opportunities for regulatory measures and approaches to harm reduction, prevention, and postvention for people at risk.
In September 2025, grants were awarded to the following teams:
Project Name: Gambling related suicide research knowledge mobilisation strategy for gambling and suicide: A psychological autopsy and qualitative inquiry
Amount: £235,246
Project Team: Professor Amanda Roberts, Dr Steve Sharman (King’s College London), Dr Jim Rogers (University of Lincoln), Dr Richard James (University of Nottingham), Dr Pauline Turnbull (University of Manchester), Dr Elena Petrovskaya (University of Lincoln), and experts by experience from GamLEARN and Gambling with Lives.
Peer Review and Adjudication Process
Each proposal submitted to the Gambling Related Suicide Research Programme and KMb Grants was reviewed by three external peer reviewers with relevant expertise. Before conducting their reviews, each peer reviewer was screened for potential conflicts of interest and whether they had existing relationships with applicants that may influence their review. Peer reviewers who were comfortable making their identity public are listed below. Each reviewer was asked to assess the proposal based on the evaluation criteria described in the application guidelines (Research Grants: SECTION 7 of Qualitative application guidelines & Quantitative application guidelines; KMb Grants: APPENDIX A of Knowledge Mobilisation Grant Application Guidelines). All those involved in the process were offered an honorarium.
Each proposal was also independently reviewed by each Adjudication Committee Co-Chair (see below). Aggregated anonymized peer reviews were provided to the Co-Chairs who then considered each proposal based on the peer reviewers’ assessments, their own assessments, and the stated objectives of the research programme. A meeting was convened in which the proposals were discussed and funding decisions were made.
Adjudication Committee Co-Chairs (in alphabetical order)
Becca Coster, Deputy Director Marketing, Student Recruitment & Admissions (Insight and Strategy), University of Essex. Former member of the Gambling Commission’s Lived Experience Advisory Panel (LEAP) who provided expert independent advice on the basis of lived experience of gambling harms.
Anna van der Gaag, Visiting Professor, Ethics and Regulation, University of Surrey, UK, and former Chair, Advisory Board for Safer Gambling at the Gambling Commission.
Peer Reviewers (in alphabetical order)
Bryce Barker, Senior Knowledge Broker, Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction. Public Profile: linkedin.com/in/bryce-barker-phd-a7753843/
Zoë Boden-Stuart, Faculty Arts and Social Science, The Open University. Public Profile: https://www.open.ac.uk/people/zbs7
Michael Goodstadt, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. Public Profile: https://www.dlsph.utoronto.ca/faculty-profile/goodstadt-michael/
Anna Lavis, Medical Anthropology, Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham. Public Profile: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/applied-health/lavis-anna.aspx
Fiona Nicoll, Professor of Political Science and Alberta Gambling Research Institute Research Director, University of Alberta and editor of the international journal Critical Gambling Studies. (Dr. Nicoll's honorarium will be used to fund a recorded roundtable conversation on youth gambling and video gaming for a public facing micro-credential course offered by the University of Alberta).
Jani Selin, Senior researcher, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare. Public Profile: linkedin.com/in/jani-selin-11761674
Brianna Turner, Psychology, University of Victoria. Public Profile: https://www.uvic.ca/socialsciences/psychology/people/faculty-directory/turner-brianna.php
Note: Some reviewers provided peer reviews for both the Research Grant and Knowledge Mobilisation Grant adjudicated competitions.
For more information about the funding provided to Greo to support the gambling-related suicide research programme visit the About the funds page.
Information last updated: 10 September 2025.