The EPIC Gambling Spectrum
Understanding the intricate connection between mental health and performance is crucial in sport, as your psychological wellbeing significantly influences your ability to excel and make informed decisions.
This is why it may be useful to assess your relationship with gambling using the EPIC Gambling Spectrum.
Scroll below to watch Chris and Marc discussing the gambling spectrum.
Please be aware that the following video contains references to both mental health and suicide. If you are affected by any of the issues Chris mentions then please contact one of the many support networks provided at the end of this module.
Where do you think you currently sit on the spectrum?
Click each of the makers below to learn more about the spectrum:
At this stage the individual has little to no risk. The individual is not gambling and has no relationship with gambling.
At this stage an individual will have a relationship with gambling but at a low level. This could be the occasional lottery purchase or as simple as once a year on the Grand National.
At this stage on the spectrum an individual will have a strong relationship with gambling. The individual may have accounts with more than one provider and will gamble on several markets. Their gambling will still be in control during this stage but could still be at danger of moving along the spectrum.
A heavy gambler may start to show the early signs of gambling harm. An individual at this stage will have accounts with several providers, bet on several markets and sports and gamble on a daily basis. An intervention will be recommended to minimise the impact and stop them from moving along the spectrum.
This is when the gambling becomes a problem and the harms will become very evident. By this stage gambling will have become unsustainable and the individual will be gambling far beyond their means. Spending will be erratic and on markets they have little understanding of. Gambling will have a very negative effect on mental health.
When an individual reaches the disordered gambler stage then an intervention is needed. There will be a complete loss of reality to the numbers and money will become almost worthless. The individual will find any means to find the money with which to gamble.