Impacts of the COVID-19 Shutdown on Gambling Patterns in Australia: Consideration of Problem Gambling and Psychological Distress - PubMed (original) (raw)

Impacts of the COVID-19 Shutdown on Gambling Patterns in Australia: Consideration of Problem Gambling and Psychological Distress

Sally M Gainsbury et al. J Addict Med. 2021 Nov-Dec.

Abstract

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic reduced access to gambling and contributed to widespread psychological distress. Psychological distress is a known risk factor for problem gambling as it can motivate excessive gambling as a coping response. The availability of gambling is considered a factor in maintaining problems. This paper aimed to investigate the impact of the shutdown of gambling venues on Australians, particularly among those vulnerable to mental health problems and gambling disorder.

Methods: Australian adults who had gambled at least once in the past 12 months (N = 764, 85.2% male) completed an online cross-sectional survey. Self-report measures retrospectively assessed typical monthly gambling frequency and expenditure before and after the COVID-19 venue shutdown, problem gambling, and psychological distress.

Results: Significant median decreases in gambling frequency were observed, both online and overall. No relationship was found between psychological distress and baseline or increases in gambling. Greater problem gambling severity was related to higher baseline gambling, but not to increases in gambling. Exploratory analysis showed that individuals engaged in moderate-risk gambling, but not problem gambling, were more likely to report increased gambling frequency compared to nonproblem and low-risk gamblers combined.

Conclusions: Findings provide important insights into how changes in availability influence gambling participation, and for understanding the effectiveness of forced restrictions and venue exclusion strategies. Most people moderated their gambling when venue-based gambling was unavailable and opportunities for sports betting were limited. However, harms experienced by individuals with some gambling problems may have been exacerbated during the period of limited access. Policies to enhance prevention and treatment of gambling problems are necessary even when availability is reduced.

Copyright © 2020 American Society of Addiction Medicine.

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Conflict of interest statement

Martin T Burgess reports no conflicts of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1

FIGURE 1

Mosaic plot of changes in gambling frequency by activity type. The height of each bar represents the relative prevalence of that group within the overall sample. Land-based gambling activities (eg, electronic gaming machines) that were forced to close during the shutdown are not shown. Online race betting refers to betting on horse or dog races online. Online sports betting refers to betting on sports (excluding esports) online. Land-based lotteries include instant scratch tickets. Online nonsports betting refers to betting on nonsporting events, such as political or weather events, online. Online casino games refer to casino table games (eg, blackjack, roulette), poker machines/slots, instant scratch tickets, or bingo online. Private betting refers to betting for real money with friends and family.

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