The global health impact of commercial gambling is worse than previously understood and stronger regulatory controls are needed, a Lancet Public Health Commission on gambling has found.

Gambling harms are far more substantial than previously understood, exacerbated by rapid global expansion and digital transformation of the gambling industry

The Commission also found that harms from gambling include physical and mental health problems, relationship breakdown, heightened risk of suicide and domestic violence, increased crime, loss of employment and financial losses.

The University of Glasgow’s Professor Heather Wardle was Co-Chair of the Commission.

She was joined by UofG colleagues Professor Gerda Reith and Professor Chris Bunn, who are both Commissioners for the Lancet Public Health Commission, which combined international expertise on gambling studies, public health, global health policy, risk control and regulatory policy, with lived experience of gambling harms.

Professors Wardle, Reith and Bunn have all undertaken extensive research into the impact and severity of gambling harms, both in the UK and globally, as part of the Gambling Research Glasgow collective.

The Commission is published at a time when gambling reform in Great Britain continues to be debated. It recommends that governments prioritise protecting public health when developing gambling policy, and that governments should prohibit or substantially restrict gambling advertisement, sponsorship and marketing.

In addition, the Commission recommends that policy, research and treatment need to be protected from the distortionary effects of commercial influence. This involves a rapid transition away from industry funding for all of these activities.

Professor Gerda Reith said: “Gambling is associated with widespread harms, that affect many more people than just the person who gambles. The previous government recognised the need to reform gambling legislation to make it fit for the digital age. It is vital to continue and extend these reforms so that the policy priority is the protection of the public.”

She added: “Public health should always be prioritised over profit. The new Government’s ten-year plan for health and care put substantial focus on preventing ill-health. Enacting the Commission’s recommendations delivers this prevention activity for gambling and ensures that governments discharge their ethical duty to protect the health and wellbeing of their citizens.”

The Commission also calls for regulatory reform to tackle the health impacts of the rapid global expansion of commercial gambling. It estimated that approximately 448·7 million adults worldwide experience any risk gambling, where individuals occasionally experience at least one behavioural symptom or adverse personal, social or health consequence of gambling. Of these, an estimated 80 million adults experience gambling disorder or problematic gambling.

The new analysis also estimated that gambling disorder could affect 15.8 per cent of the adults and 26.4 per cent of the adolescents who gamble using online casino or slot products, and 8.9 per cent of adults and 16.3 per cent of adolescents who gamble using sports betting products.

Professor Heather Wardle said: “Most people think of a traditional Las Vegas casino or buying a lottery ticket when they think of gambling. They don’t think of large technology companies deploying a variety of techniques to get more people to engage more frequently with a commodity that can pose substantial risks to health, but this is the reality of gambling today.

“Anyone with a mobile phone now has access to what is essentially a casino in their pocket, 24 hours a day. Highly sophisticated marketing and technology make it easier to start, and harder to stop gambling, and many products now use design mechanics to encourage repeated and longer engagement. The global growth trajectory of this industry is phenomenal; collectively we need to wake up and take action. If we delay, gambling and gambling harms will become even more widely embedded as a global phenomenon and much harder to tackle.”

Related links

First published: 25 October 2024

<< University news