Impact of COVID-19 on Online Gambling - A General Population Survey During the Pandemic - PubMed (original) (raw)

Impact of COVID-19 on Online Gambling - A General Population Survey During the Pandemic

Anders Håkansson. Front Psychol. 2020.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic may have severe impact on mental health, and concerns have been raised about potentially increased online behavior and possibly increased gambling problems, such as in sports bettors at risk of transfer to even riskier forms of gambling during sports lock-down. Given the need for objective data about gambling behavior during the pandemic, the present analysis, from a project assessing online gambling in Sweden, aimed to study past-30-day gambling patterns in online gamblers in Sweden. The study, carried out in May, 2020, during the pandemic and its restrictions on society, included past-year online gamblers (N = 997). Past-30-day gambling for several gambling types was lower compared to a previous study in online gamblers in the same setting, while online non-sports gambling remained at high levels. Those reporting sports betting even during a period with decreased sports betting occasions proved to have markedly higher gambling problems. COVID-19 may alter gambling behaviors, and online gamblers who maintain or initiate gambling types theoretically reduced by the crisis may represent a group at particular risk.

Keywords: COVID-19; behavioral addiction; gambling disorder; online gambling; problem gambling; sports betting.

Copyright © 2020 Håkansson.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

• Gambling and the COVID-19 pandemic: A scoping review.
  Brodeur M, Audette-Chapdelaine S, Savard AC, Kairouz S. Brodeur M, et al. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2021 Dec 20;111:110389. doi: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2021.110389. Epub 2021 Jun 17. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2021. PMID: 34146652 Free PMC article.
• Changes in Gambling Behavior during the COVID-19 Pandemic-A Web Survey Study in Sweden.
  Håkansson A. Håkansson A. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Jun 5;17(11):4013. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17114013. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020. PMID: 32516880 Free PMC article.
• Effects on Gambling Activity From Coronavirus Disease 2019-An Analysis of Revenue-Based Taxation of Online- and Land-Based Gambling Operators During the Pandemic.
  Håkansson A. Håkansson A. Front Psychiatry. 2020 Dec 17;11:611939. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.611939. eCollection 2020. Front Psychiatry. 2020. PMID: 33391059 Free PMC article.
• Risk Factors for Gambling Problems on Online Electronic Gaming Machines, Race Betting and Sports Betting.
  Hing N, Russell AM, Browne M. Hing N, et al. Front Psychol. 2017 May 15;8:779. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00779. eCollection 2017. Front Psychol. 2017. PMID: 28555121 Free PMC article.
• Gambling behaviors during COVID-19: a narrative review.
  Sachdeva V, Sharma S, Sarangi A. Sachdeva V, et al. J Addict Dis. 2022 Apr-Jun;40(2):208-216. doi: 10.1080/10550887.2021.1971942. Epub 2021 Sep 17. J Addict Dis. 2022. PMID: 34533420 Review.

Cited by

• Gambling and the COVID-19 pandemic: A scoping review.
  Brodeur M, Audette-Chapdelaine S, Savard AC, Kairouz S. Brodeur M, et al. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2021 Dec 20;111:110389. doi: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2021.110389. Epub 2021 Jun 17. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2021. PMID: 34146652 Free PMC article.
• Estimation of Behavioral Addiction Prevalence During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
  Alimoradi Z, Lotfi A, Lin CY, Griffiths MD, Pakpour AH. Alimoradi Z, et al. Curr Addict Rep. 2022;9(4):486-517. doi: 10.1007/s40429-022-00435-6. Epub 2022 Sep 12. Curr Addict Rep. 2022. PMID: 36118286 Free PMC article. Review.
• Gaming Activity and Possible Changes in Gaming Behavior Among Young People During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-sectional Online Survey Study.
  Claesdotter-Knutsson E, André F, Håkansson A. Claesdotter-Knutsson E, et al. JMIR Serious Games. 2022 Jan 25;10(1):e33059. doi: 10.2196/33059. JMIR Serious Games. 2022. PMID: 34817386 Free PMC article.
• Risk Factors for Increased Online Gambling during COVID-19 Lockdowns in New Zealand: A Longitudinal Study.
  Bellringer ME, Garrett N. Bellringer ME, et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Dec 8;18(24):12946. doi: 10.3390/ijerph182412946. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021. PMID: 34948555 Free PMC article.
• Gambling Motives and Offshore Gambling: A Finnish Population Study.
  Hagfors H, Oksanen A, Salonen AH. Hagfors H, et al. J Gambl Stud. 2024 Jun;40(2):825-840. doi: 10.1007/s10899-023-10253-8. Epub 2023 Sep 28. J Gambl Stud. 2024. PMID: 37768466 Free PMC article.

References

1. 1. BBC (2019). Sweden Female Gambling Addicts Outnumber Men for First Time. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-47814630 (accessed May 31, 2020).
2. 1. Calado F., Griffiths M. (2016). Problem gambling worldwide: an update and systematic review of empirical research (2000-2015). J. Behav. Addict. 5 592–613. 10.1556/2006.5.2016.073 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
3. 1. Chóliz M. (2016). The challenge of online gambling: the effect of legalization on the increase in online gambling addiction. J. Gambl. Stud. 32 749–756. 10.1007/s10899-015-9558-6 - DOI - PubMed
4. 1. Díez D., Aragay N., Soms M., Prat G., Casas M. (2014). Male and female pathological gamblers: bet in a different way and show different mental disorders. Span. J. Psychol. 17:E101.3. - PubMed
5. 1. Economou M., Souliotis K., Malliori M., Peppou L. E., Kontoangelos K., Lazaratou H., et al. (2019). Problem gambling in Greece: prevalence and risk factors during the financial crisis. J. Gambl. Stud. 35 1193–1210. 10.1007/s10899-019-09843-2 - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources

• Full Text Sources

  • Europe PubMed Central
  • Frontiers Media SA
  • PubMed Central

• Miscellaneous

  • NCI CPTAC Assay Portal