A study commissioned by GambleAware has found that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) provides evidence of effectively treating gambling disorders.
The paper, conducted by the National Centre for Social Research, reviews literature published between 2020 and 2024, examining evidence on psychological and psychosocial interventions.
Besides CBT, the range of intervention types also features Motivational Interventions, Residential Treatment, helplines, peer-led group programmes, and intervention for affected others – also known as support for people affected by someone else’s gambling.
The evidence-based approach concentrated on gambling-specific measures, such as the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI), gambling participation, and money spent, rather than broader metrics like mental health, financial, and relationship harm.
CBT’s effectiveness in driving positive outcomes was supported by “strong evidence”, although it should be noted that the volume of CBT-related evidence exceeded that of other interventions.
Furthermore, much of the quantitative evidence supporting CBT primarily focused on short-term effects, comparing pre-and post-treatment results, with a few case studies extending up to three years.
The research concluded by highlighting the existing evidence gap and stressing the importance of additional studies by service and healthcare providers to guide future efforts in the field.