How does involvement in campaigning impact close relatives bereaved by gambling-related suicide?

Date: : Wednesday, 14th January 2026: 14.00 UK; 09.00 Eastern USA/Canada; 15.00 Western Europe; 16.00 Finland; 19.30 India

Title: How does involvement in campaigning impact close relatives bereaved by gambling-related suicide?

Presenters: Eugene Farrar, York St John University, School of Education, Language and Psychology, York, UK

Gary Shepherd, York St John University, School of Education, Language and Psychology, York, UK

Chair: Ed Sipler, South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust, Northern Ireland, UK

Description: Recent survey results from the UK Gambling Commission (October 2025), indicate that 48% of adults in the UK participated in some form of gambling over the previous 12 months. Based on current population estimates, this equates to approximately 26.6 million adults. Of these, around 1.83 million people sought help for their own gambling. A further 1.83 million adults sought help due to the gambling behaviours of someone close to them. This suggests a likely increase in gambling-related harm, not just for individuals who gamble, but for families, communities, and society at large.

Among the most devastating outcomes is bereavement through gambling-related suicide, a deeply traumatic and often overlooked consequence. In response, the UK has seen a rise in both individual and collective activism, seeking stronger regulation of the gambling industry. Campaigners are increasingly critical of what they view as light-touch regulation, and profit-first industry practices that compromise player safety and public health. Our journal article, “How does involvement in campaigning impact close relatives bereaved by gambling-related suicide?”, explores these issues through in-depth semi-structured interviews. We examine both the positive and negative effects of activism on those who have lost loved ones — considering how campaigning may serve as a form of postvention, while also acknowledging the emotional toll it can take.

This webinar shared the lived experiences of individuals at the forefront of this advocacy work. This led to a discussion around key emerging themes: how the relationship prior to the suicide impacted on their advocacy; their experienced of engagement with the media; the emotional impacts of campaigning; and their relationship with the deceased person following the suicide.