Former gambling addicts visit mosques to tackle stigma
Gambling is a sin in Islam. That can stop people getting help if they have a problem, says outreach group Urban Muslimz
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Recovering gambling addicts have been visiting mosques and Muslim community centres to help confront taboos around getting help for the addiction in Muslim communities.
It is part of a London-wide campaign by the outreach group Urban Muslimz, which runs in-person discussions on social issues and publishes articles online about faith, religion and society. So far, five workshops have taken place, with more set to be announced.
Urban Muslimz says Muslims with gambling addictions often conceal the problem from family and friends, making many in the wider community unaware of the issue. The organisation hopes that its workshops can help those affected to seek help, and inform family members about how they can support their loved ones.
“I did not think gambling was much of an issue within our community, given that it is a sin in Islam. I didn’t think gambling was something Muslims engaged in,” said Sarah Hussain, a community worker from Urban Muslimz. “It wasn’t until I started working as a community worker that people would reach out to me in confidence to describe how gambling addiction was affecting them or their loved ones.”
Gambling addiction is recognised as a mental health disorder that affects about one in 100 people in the UK. While people from ethnic minority groups are less likely to gamble than people from white ethnic backgrounds, they are more likely to suffer harm from doing so — including addiction.
Research into gamblers from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds conducted by the charity GambleAware in 2020 found that, following “no religion” (38%), Islam was the most common faith group represented among gamblers from BAME backgrounds (14%). It also found that Muslims were more likely than BAME gamblers from other religious backgrounds to display problem gambling behaviours.
“I think that religion plays a role because it makes people less willing to come out and admit they have a problem,” Hussain said. “That’s why we aim is to educate people and let them know that if this affects them or their loved ones they don’t have to let stigma stop them from seeking help.”
Several Muslims struggling with gambling addiction reported in a follow-up study by GambleAware from 2024 that they had been encouraged by their parents to hide their addiction from the wider community and that they feared the stigma associated with the addiction would reflect badly on their families.
“Mum and dad, they said… ‘Please, if you are gambling, don’t talk to people about it, don’t go to places where there’s a lot of people driving in the middle of town. People see you coming out gambling and they think you’re a piss head and it comes back to me,’” a Pakistani man was quoted as saying in the study.
In the workshops being delivered across London throughout Ramadan and in the following months, participants can learn about the psychology of addiction as well as behaviours and activities that can lead to it.
“When people understand the psychology of addiction, what their problem is and how it happens in their body, I think it becomes easier to accept that it is a problem that is real and can be addressed,” Hussain said.
Details of the events will be announced on the Urban Muslimz Facebook page as they are confirmed.
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