Predictors and patterns of gambling behaviour across the COVID-19 lockdown: Findings from a UK cohort study

The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on gambling: A systematic review

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, people's habits changed radically. In fact, to limit the spread of SARS-CoV-2, governments implemented restrictive measures that influenced the lives of individuals. The aim of this systematic review is to analyze the impact of COVID-19 on gambling by examining three different outcomes: frequency, expenditure, and transition among possible types of gambling.

METHODS

All studies assessing the impact of restrictive measures implemented to limit the spread of SARS-CoV-2 on gambling were included. For the search, two different databases were used: Pubmed and CINAHL. Moreover, two different populations were analyzed: the general population, and subjects who used to gamble before SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. All qualitative studies, reports not based on peer-review, and papers in which the statistical unit was not the subject but the gambling or wagering operators were excluded.

RESULTS

From the search, 408 reports were identified. Of these, 28 were included in the systematic review. From the studies, a strong reduction in the frequency and expenditure of land-based gambling emerged, while the results about online gambling were different among the studies. However, a reduction was observed assessing sports betting, and an increase emerged considering online casino and skill games. Finally, a significant migration from land-based gambling to online platforms was identified. The main reasons for these findings were the physical closures of land-based gambling venues and the more time spent at home, the suspension or cancelation of sporting events on which subjects used to bet, and more mental health issues during this challenging period.

CONCLUSIONS

The COVID-19 pandemic greatly affected subjects' habits, including gambling, by reducing land-based gambling and sports betting, and increasing gambling on online platforms. This shift poses significant challenges, requiring a comprehensive approach to monitor and mitigate the negative consequences of this increase in online gambling caused by the pandemic.

Online Gambling Patterns and Predictors of Problem Gambling Among Korean Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-sectional Study

PURPOSE

This study examined online gambling patterns among Korean adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic and identified predictors of problem gambling based on a socio-ecological model.

METHODS

It used nationally representative data from the 2020 National Survey on Youth Gambling Problems conducted by the Korea Center on Gambling Problems. This study selected a sample of 780 adolescents aged 13-18 years who reported having gambled online at least once in the last three months from the raw data of respondents. They were classified as the non-problem group and problem group according to the Gambling Problems Severity Scale (GPSS) of the Canadian Adolescent Gambling Inventory (CAGI). The predictive factors of problem gambling were analyzed by logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS

The prevalence of problem gambling was 24.6 %. Its predictors included intrapersonal [male (odds ratios, OR = 1.67); gambling prior to COVID-19 (OR = 2.08)] and interpersonal factors [frequent gamblers in peers (OR = 4.34); peer pressure (OR = 2.34)]. Social factors, such as gambling in online community (OR = 5.60), sports betting (OR = 53.24), and lotteries (OR = 17.03) were associated with problem gambling.

CONCLUSIONS

The major predictors of problem gambling among adolescent online gamblers included peer gambling and specific types of gambling. To prevent problem gambling, strategies targeting peer groups are essential. In addition, nurses need to share with families, schools, communities, and policymakers that online gambling, such as lotteries and sports betting, are high-risk of adolescent problem gambling, and recommend them to collaborate for stricter regulatory measures.

Risk Factors for Gambling Disorder: A Systematic Review

Gambling disorder is a common and problematic behavioral disorder associated with depression, substance abuse, domestic violence, bankruptcy, and high suicide rates. In the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), pathological gambling was renamed "gambling disorder" and moved to the Substance-Related and Addiction Disorders chapter to acknowledge that research suggests that pathological gambling and alcohol and drug addiction are related. Therefore, this paper provides a systematic review of risk factors for gambling disorder. Systematic searches of EBSCO, PubMed, and Web of Science identified 33 records that met study inclusion criteria. A revised study acknowledges as risk factors for developing/maintaining a gambling disorder being a single young male, or married for less than 5 years, living alone, having a poor education, and struggling financially.

Changes in sports gambling behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

Sports betting is one of the most popular forms of gambling in Canada; recent prevalence estimates indicate that 7.9% of Canadian adults endorsed gambling on sports in the past year. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic led to the temporary closure of most major sports leagues worldwide beginning in March of 2020. These sudden closures created a dramatic decrease in the availability of sports betting opportunities in the early stages of the pandemic, followed by a subsequent increase in availability as most sport leagues returned during the summer of 2020. Using a retrospective self-report measure of gambling participation, the present study investigated how the gambling behaviors of N = 85 past-year sports gamblers changed over the course of the pandemic. It was hypothesized that sports gamblers would report an initial decrease in gambling behaviors from pre-pandemic baseline levels to the early stages of the pandemic in May of 2020 when the availability of sports gambling was heavily restricted, followed by an increase in gambling behaviors from May to August, in accordance with the re-emergence of live sporting events. The general pattern of results supported the hypotheses, though gambling behaviors did not completely return to baseline levels. Beyond quantifying the changes in gambling behaviors over the early stages of the pandemic in Canada, results may have implications regarding the utility of voluntary gambling exclusion programs as well as legislation concerning gambling access.

An interrupted time series analysis of gambling behavior based on gambling operator revenue-based taxation during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden

OBJECTIVES

The impact of COVID-19 on gambling behavior and the gambling industry itself has been widely speculated. Prior studies have shown how boredom, social isolation, poor mental health, and financial hardships, all of which have been associated with COVID-19, can aggravate problem gambling behaviors in patients with gambling disorders while also luring newcomers. Few studies have used methods other than self-report to assess longitudinal behavioral changes in gambling behavior before versus during the pandemic.

STUDY DESIGN

The present study addresses this gap by using an interrupted time series approach on data obtained from the Swedish Gambling Authority measuring taxation on gambling vendors' revenue between January 2019 and November 2021.

METHODS

March, June, and October 2020 were chosen as interruption points as they correspond to the pandemic's commencement, the return of elite sports, and the second wave of cases in Sweden, respectively. We hypothesized that the pandemic would be associated with both temporary changes for select gambling types and long-term increases in online gambling.

RESULTS

Results revealed the pandemic's onset was associated with transient effects at each point of interruption, as well as long-term upward trends in total gambling and commercial online gambling, excluding horse betting and the state-owned operator for online casinos and betting.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study's findings, although consistent with the theory that gambling activity could increase during the pandemic, contradict previous studies that found no changes or a decrease from pre-COVID-19 levels. Findings indicate that the pandemic and Sweden's reaction to it were associated with increased use of some gambling products.