Pandemics and epidemics: public health and gambling harms (original) (raw)
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Gambling and public health: we need policy action to prevent harm
BMJ
Current approaches targeting affected individuals substantially underestimate the harms of gambling Gambling places a major burden of harm on individuals, communities, and society Harms from gambling are generated through a range of political, legislative, commercial and interpersonal actions Public health approaches to reduce harms related to gambling should encompass a range of population based approaches supported by regulation, legislation. and funding
Gambling and gambling-related harm: recent World Health Organization initiatives
Public Health, 2020
Objectives: There has been unprecedented growth in commercial gambling. Increasingly gambling has migrated to the Internet and become readily accessible via mobile devices. Gambling disorder and gambling-related harm present a significant global public health challenge. To date, few jurisdictions have included gambling in health policies and addressed gambling-related harm within a comprehensive public health framework. The purpose of this study is to examine recent developments at the global level that may change this. Study design: This is a narrative review and examination of meeting content and outcomes. Methods: Relevant literature was reviewed, and the content and outcomes of recent International Think Tank on Gambling Research, Policy and Practice and World Health Organization (WHO) meetings were identified, summarised and discussed. Results: Although gambling disorder was included in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases in 1975, relatively little attention has been given to assessing wider gambling-related harms and addressing them within a public health framework. In recent years, this has changed with the first gambling studies to use burden of disease methodologies and the development of harm classifications and conceptual frameworks. This research has strengthened calls for gambling to be included in public health agendas. While few member states have done this, in the past few years gambling has received increased attention from the WHO. This includes its placement alongside alcohol and drugs in 2017 and 2019 WHO global forums and annual WHO meetings on public health implications of addictive behaviours. These and planned WHO meetings and activities are laying the groundwork for a WHO international gambling programme and work plan. Conclusion: A significant start has been made to address gambling disorder and gambling-related harm as an important global health issue. This has potential to encourage member states to explicitly include gambling in national and subnational public health plans. However, this progress may be precarious and is likely to require concerted advocacy and support from academic and other civil society organisations to sustain.
Gambling and health: uncomfortable bedfellows
The New Zealand medical journal, 2007
Gambling has been a leading growth industry for 20 years, particularly in countries such as New Zealand where electronic gaming machines (EGMs) and urban casinos were widely introduced. 1 Approximately NZ$2 billion was spent (lost) in New Zealand on major forms of gambling last year-$5.5 million per day. Like alcohol, gambling is Janus-faced. Among other things it deals entertainment, pleasure, companionship, distraction, and dreams with one hand. And it dispenses financial ruin and a trail of personal, family, and social devastation with the other.
Gambling and the Health of the Public: Adopting a Public Health Perspective
Journal of gambling studies / co-sponsored by the National Council on Problem Gambling and Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming, 1999
During the last decade there has been an unprecedented expansion of legalized gambling throughout North America. Three primary forces appear to be motivating this growth: (1) the desire of governments to identify new sources of revenue without invoking new or higher taxes; (2) tourism entrepreneurs developing new destinations for entertainment and leisure; and (3) the rise of new technologies and forms of gambling (e.g., video lottery terminals, powerball mega-lotteries, and computer offshore gambling). Associated with this phenomenon, there has been an increase in the prevalence of problem and pathological gambling among the general adult population, as well as a sustained high level of gambling-related problems among youth. To date there has been little dialogue within the public health sector in particular, or among health care practitioners in general, about the potential health impact of gambling or gambling-related problems. This article encourages the adoption of a public hea...
Gambling behaviour change during the Covid-19 pandemic: public health policies perspectives
2021
Italy faced the covid-19 emergency through the so-called “mitigation” approach (Giarelli & Vicarelli, 2020), having a significant impact on health conditions and people's behaviours, like gambling. Gambling is a growing phenomenon affecting about 36.4% of the Italian population with implications on social relations, economy and public health. Specifically, during the lockdown period, the access to Italian on-site game rooms was reduced (Prime Ministerial Decree of 8/3/20) by limiting game opportunities, except for online ones. This fact led to a change in gambling, highlighting the importance of both online gambling and the development of public prevention measures. The paper aims to study how environmental variables, such as Covid-19 containment measures, could affect gambling behaviour and whether this may have an impact on public policies. The study was carried out through a comparative analysis of scientific articles, regulations and statistical data about how gambling chang...
The United Kingdom is about to undergo one of the most radical changes of gambling legisla- tion in its history. The new gambling bill will provide the British public with increased opportunities and access to gambling like they have never seen before. Gambling legislation will be revolutionised, and many of the tight restrictions on gambling dating back to the 1968 Gaming Act will be relaxed. As a result the number of casinos will increase, and Las Vegas type casinos will be introduced in resorts such as Blackpool. The deregulation of gambling is also coupled with the many new media in which people can gamble. As a consequence of technological innovation, people in the United Kingdom now have access to internet, inter- active television, and mobile phone gambling. Given the expected explosion in gambling opportunities, is this something that the medical profession should be concerned about?
A public health advocacy approach for preventing and reducing gambling related harm
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 2019
The authors have stated the following conflict of interest: ST receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation for gambling research. The Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation is funded via hypothecated taxes from gambling. In the last three years she has received conference travel funding from the Living Room, Cardiff and the European Union. MR and MD receive funding from the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation and the Australian Research Council for gambling research. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Gambling
BRAIN. Broad Research in Artificial Intelligence and Neuroscience
Introduction. Gambling is a well-known social issue, which seems to address immediate needs of a large portion of population in the entire world. Throughout various periods of curfews enacted by the medical authorities, the society experiences various challenges, a fact that puts a great amount of psychological pressure on gamblers and their families, that is rather difficult to be asssessed. Aim. The presentation seeks to assess the effects of anti-pandemic social measures, especially those imposed after March 2020, on mental wellfare and behaviour of bettors. By assessing the intentions and measures related to sport competitions in the near future, we tried to identify the overall impact on spending routines and lifestyle from any available data. Materials and method. The paper found sources in the psychological and medical literature in order to identify spending routines of bettors and pathological behaviours, as expressed in DSM-5. The paper also discusses the factors introduce...
BMJ Open, 2021
IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic has major collateral impacts on mental health. Gambling is among the major public health issues that seems to have been transformed by the pandemic. In the province of Quebec in Canada, gambling is an important leisure activity. About two out of three adults are in Quebec gamble. The objective of this study is to draw a portrait of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on gamblers and to learn more about their experiences during the pandemic in the province of Quebec.Method and analysisThis study has a sequential explanatory mixed-method design in two phases. The first phase is a cross-sectional online survey with Quebec residents who are 18 years of age or older and have gambled at least once in the previous 12 months. The second phase will be a qualitative study. Semistructured interviews will be conducted with gamblers, family members, addiction counsellors and state representatives selected through purposing sampling.Ethics and disseminationThis ...