Ara have been providing services that tackle gambling harms in Wales for over a decade. In 2019 we became the National Gambling Treatment Provider for the whole of Wales.
We established the first Welsh gambling treatment service with 4 partners – Penyrenhys Cardiff, 3Gs Merthyr, WCGADA Swansea and CAB Newport. Our Welsh treatment service is focussed on ensuring that we promote local integration with the wider ecosystem of services for people in Wales.
To read more about our Welsh treatment services, you can download the Ara Wales Brochure here.
For the Welsh language version, click here.
Our approach within Wales is predicated on the understanding that a UK-wide or London-centric approach does not result in the best outcomes for culturally and linguistically diverse local communities. In addition to place-based interventions throughout Wales (with Welsh-language counselling and resources), we ensure that our employees and Lived Experience groups are able to feed in to the design of the service, making it fit for a country where 35% of the population live in rural areas.
Our hybrid ways of working recognise that the transport infrastructure in Wales can preclude people engaging in treatment due to long journeys and little or no transport.
We know that gambling harms are not evenly distributed in Wales. People living in deprived areas are at increased risk (as with a range of health inequalities), and we focus our outreach work in line with research such as the Welsh Index of Multiple Depravation, and the GambleAware Index of Multiple Deprivation Maps. Armed forces personnel and veterans; university students; South Asian communities; the homeless – these and other vulnerable groups within Wales form our priority for awareness raising and improving accessibility to free and confidential treatment.
Client feedback showed that 100% of clients would recommend the service to someone else, and 98% were extremely or very satisfied with the service they received. Using industry standard screening tools, clients engaged with counselling showed an average 11 point improvement on their well-being scores and a 15 point improvement on their problem gambling scores (see Ara 2022 Impact Reports for details).
We have offices for treatment throughout Wales (including Cardiff, Carmarthen, Bridgend, Maesteg, Mountain Ash and Swansea) as well as telephone and video conference counselling available where this is a preferred option for clients. Welsh language advice and counselling is available across the nation, as well as Welsh and English options for gambling resources on our website.
Email: aragamblingservice@recovery4all.co.uk
Telephone: 0330 1240 286
To self-refer: visit our online form
