A public health approach to gambling regulation: countering powerful influences - PubMed (original) (raw)

Review

. 2021 Aug;6(8):e614-e619.

doi: 10.1016/S2468-2667(21)00098-0. Epub 2021 Jun 22.

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Review

A public health approach to gambling regulation: countering powerful influences

May C I van Schalkwyk et al. Lancet Public Health. 2021 Aug.

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Abstract

Often portrayed as a harmless leisure activity in the UK, gambling is being increasingly recognised as a public health concern. However, a gambling policy system that explicitly tackles public health concerns and confronts the dependencies and conflicts of interest that undermine the public good is absent in the UK. Although there is a window of opportunity to change the gambling policy system, with the UK Government's launch of a review of the Gambling Act 2005, the adoption of a comprehensive and meaningful public health approach is not guaranteed. Too often, government policy has employed discourses that align more closely with those of the gambling industry than with those of the individuals, families, and communities affected by the harms of gambling. In view of the well described commercial determinants of health and corporate behaviour, an immense effort will be needed to shift the gambling discourse to protect public health. In this Viewpoint, we seek to advance this agenda by identifying elements that need challenging and stimulating debate.

Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 licence. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of interests RC reports personal fees from the House of Lords, WHO, and the Turkish Green Crescent Society; and travel and accommodation support from the Alberta Gaming Research Institute, outside the submitted work. MP reports being a coinvestigator in the SPECTRUM consortium, funded by the UK Prevention Research Partnership, a consortium of UK funders (UKRI Research Councils [Medical Research Council, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council, and Natural Environment Research Council], charities [British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Wellcome Trust, and The Health Foundation], and government bodies [Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office, Health and Care Research Wales, National Institute of Health Research, and Public Health Agency]). All other authors declare no competing interests.

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