Tackling gambling addiction through tech: the Manchester service addressing a hidden epidemic

An award-winning Manchester organisation is using technology to tackle gambling addiction by removing the stigma associated with getting help.

AnonyMind, which launched in late 2019, recently scooped the Tech For Good prize at the Prolific North Champions Awards.

The team behind the service spoke of how its online service provides privacy for those struggling with what is very often a hidden problem.

It also spoke about how its work on gambling addiction grew out of helping Manchester armed forces personnel cope with the adjustment back to civilian life.

What is AnonyMind?

AnonyMind was founded by a team including Andy Iddon and Chris Perry-Metcalf and ultimately stems from a core business which provides affordable accommodation for armed forces personnel.

They have also opened a private residential clinic, Leon House in Prestwich, for people struggling with the transition out of the military.

It was while doing this work that they realised how big a problem gambling addiction was, and this ultimately led to the creation of AnonyMind.

Chris said: “Giving someone a key doesn’t take all the problems away. It’s a foundation to build a life on but some of the individuals needed intervention, whether it was because of mental health issues or addictions.

“We opened our residential facility in Manchester in 2019 to support them making that transition from military to civilian life.

“That has been a great success but it got us thinking about a platform which could further break down the barriers for people who wouldn’t want to come to a facility but want treatment or to talk to a therapist remotely or online.”

Andy said: “AnonyMind is a digital solution which has a series of self-help areas, initially in gambling addiction but which has been widened to include other mental health conditions.”

The platform includes a self-help library, online self-assessment for gambling addiction and access to expert therapist treatment when people feel ready.

Why is online treatment needed for this?

AnonyMind’s research suggests gambling addiction is very much a hidden issue which sometimes even the loved ones of those affected do not know about.

The organisation says 75 per cent of problem gamblers are in full-time employment, and 20 per cent of military personnel receiving help for the addiction also have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

This is where AnonyMind says its online approach can help.

Andy said: “Problem gambling is very often something these individuals still want to keep hidden from everybody.

“We enable them to access support for treatment via a platform in their own time, in their lunch hour or in the car, and we believe this breaks down barriers to access.”

Technical director Ryan Durkin said they chose to build AnonyMind as a browser-based service rather than an app which would have to be downloaded and could therefore potentially be seen on a phone by a friend, work colleague or family member.

Dr Jamie Barsky, who is lead clinician for AnonyMind, says the one in five veterans with both PTSD and problem gambling are far from alone.

In fact, gambling addiction is often not the only thing people struggling with it are going through.

He said: “Gambling addiction often presents with other mental health and emotional difficulties, things like depression, anxiety or PTSD.

“It’s often a symptom of something else so we need to tackle what is underneath and causing it.

“For some people it is also a coping strategy for their deeper problems, so it could even be dangerous to take away the gambling without seeing it as part of a bigger, more complex mental health picture.”

AnonyMind now has a team of some 40 clinicians signed up, over half of whom also work for the NHS.

Scooping the silverware

AnonyMind says its victory at the Prolific North Champions Awards in the Tech for Good category is proof that other people think the service is also on the right track with what it is doing.

Andy said: “We’re grateful to be recognised by the Prolific North awards judges as an innovative provider with a disruptive approach.

“Winning this award will help us reach as many people who need support as possible.

“The clients we treat, and peers we work with, appreciate that compulsive gamblers face barriers in accessing traditional walk-in and residential treatment, from stigma and GP referrals to waiting lists and the cost and time of attending face-to-face centres.”

Ambitious plans to expand

The service is certainly not intending to rest on its laurels after placing the Tech for Good trophy in its cabinet.

It is keen to help the NHS by reducing its waiting lists and helping people get treatment for addictions quicker and also wants to work with businesses to find ways employees struggling with addiction can get in touch with AnonyMind without having to go to their line manager or boss about such a sensitive issue.

Having initially started out supporting armed forces personnel, the organisation has no intention of stopping helping ex-military people and says it wants to work with veterans’ charities.

Andy said: “We are on a journey and looking to help the NHS and charities who are struggling with mental health conditions. There is a lot of work we can do.”