Protocol for a Mixed-Method Investigation of the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Gambling Practices, Experiences and Marketing in the UK: The "Betting and Gaming COVID-19 Impact Study"

Expenditure on Paid-for Gambling Advertising During the National COVID-19 'Lockdowns': An Observational Study of Media Monitoring Data from the United Kingdom

Changes in gambling advertising during national COVID-19 'lockdowns', when stay-at-home rules restricted participation in certain gambling activities, provides important context to variance in gambling behaviour during these periods. This study describes expenditure on paid-for gambling advertising during three national lockdowns, compares expenditure to pre-pandemic estimates, and compares changes in expenditure by subsector. Data come from an observational study of weekly expenditure on paid-for gambling advertising in the United Kingdom (n = 135 weeks; beginning 2019 to mid-2021), focusing on three COVID-19 lockdowns: (1) March-May 2020; (2) November-December 2020; and (3) January-March 2021. We descriptively analysed how total advertising expenditure in each lockdown (£GBP, inflation-adjusted) compared to the same time points in 2019, both overall and by subsector (bookmakers, lotteries, online bingo, online casino and poker, gaming, pools, mobile content). Gambling advertising expenditure during lockdown one was 38.5% lower than 2019 (£43.5 million[m] vs. £70.7 m, respectively), with decreases across all subsectors (range: -81.7% [bookmakers] to -2.8% [online bingo]). Total advertising expenditure in lockdown two was 49.3% higher than 2019 (£51.7 m vs. £34.6 m), with increases for 5/7 subsectors (range: -31.6% [mobile content] to + 103.8% [bookmakers]). In lockdown three, advertising expenditure was 5.9% higher than 2019 (£91.2 m vs. £86.1 m), with increases for 4/7 subsectors (range: -92.4% [pools] to + 49.2% [mobile content]). Reductions in advertising expenditure in lockdown one are congruent with self-reported reductions in overall gambling also observed during this period. Further research is needed to determine whether increased advertising expenditure in lockdowns two and three correlates with increased gambling, overall and for specific subsectors.

Gambling and the COVID-19 pandemic: A scoping review

BACKGROUND

The impact of COVID-19 on mental health is tremendous. Since the beginning of the pandemic, several actors have raised concerns about the impact of the pandemic on gambling. Many actors fear a switch to online gambling in the context of the closure of many land-based gambling activities due to the restrictions imposed by public health authorities, such as physical distancing and lockdowns. This switch is worrisome because online gambling is considered a high-risk game. In that context, we need to know more about the impacts of the pandemic on gambling. This scoping review aims to summarize the literature that addresses the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on gambling. To our knowledge, this is the first review to focus on this subject.

METHODS

An electronic literature search involving a strategy using keywords related to COVID-19 and gambling was conducted using MEDLINE, Academic Search Complete, CINAHL, PsychINFO, Social Works Abstract, and Socio Index databases on February 25th 2021. This search was combined with a manual search in Google Scholar. To be included, studies had to discuss gambling and COVID-19 as a primary theme, be written in English, and be published in a peer-reviewed journal. After collecting the information, we collated, summarized, and reported the results using narrative synthesis.

RESULTS

The search identified 181 articles. After the removal of duplicates and screening, 24 full-text articles were reviewed and included in this study: 14 original articles, 8 commentaries or editorials, and 2 protocols. Contrary to expectations, preliminary evidence suggested that gambling behavior often either decreased or stayed the same for most gamblers during the pandemic. However, for the minority who showed increased gambling behavior, there was frequently an association with problem gambling.

CONCLUSION

The available literature on COVID-19 and gambling is limited and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on gambling behavior and gambling problems is still unclear. Therefore, there is a need for more research on this topic, both qualitative and mixed methods studies, to better understand the impact of the pandemic on gambling. Considering the results, we need to be careful, particularly with problem gamblers and other subgroups of the population who seem to be more vulnerable to increased gambling habits during this pandemic period.

Gambling and the COVID-19 pandemic in the province of Quebec (Canada): protocol for a mixed-methods study

INTRODUCTION

The 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 ANALYSIS

This 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 DISSEMINATION

This study is one of the first mixed-methods studies on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on gambling. This study will generate new scientific knowledge on a worrisome public health issue, that is, gambling, and provide a better understanding of the experiences and gambling behaviours of gamblers during the pandemic. This study is funded by the Ministry of Health and Social Services of the Government of Quebec and was approved on 27 October 2020 by the Scientific and Research Ethics Committee of the CIUSSS de l'Estrie-CHUS. This is a 2-year study that will be completed in June 2022.

The impact of the initial Covid-19 lockdown upon regular sports bettors in Britain: Findings from a cross-sectional online study

BACKGROUND

In Britain, unprecedented restrictions on daily life associated with the Covid-19 pandemic included the suspension of professional sports events during the initial 'lockdown'. This provides opportunities to observe changes in sports bettors' behaviour when their primary form of activity is removed and assess the impact of Covid-19 related circumstances upon gambling.

METHODS

In July 2020, we conducted an online cross-sectional survey of people who bet regularly (at least monthly) on sports before Covid-19 (n = 3866). Bi-variate analyses compared changes in gambling behaviours before and during the initial lockdown. Multi-variate logistic regression models explored associations between problem gambling (men) and moderate risk or problem gambling (MRPG) (women) with changes in Covid-19 related circumstances and changing gambling behaviours during Britain's initial 'lockdown' (March-June 2020).

RESULTS

29.8% of male sports bettors and 33.4% of female sports bettors stopped gambling altogether during the initial Covid-19 lockdown, though 17.3% of men and 16.5% of women started a new form of gambling during lockdown. Among men, adjusted odds ratios of problem gambling were higher among those starting a new gambling activity during lockdown (OR = 2.50 [95% CI 1.38-4.53]). Among women, adjusted odds ratios of MRPG were higher among those whose frequency of gambling on any activity increased during lockdown (OR = 4.21 [1.99-8.92] and among those shielding for health reasons. Poorer wellbeing was associated with problem gambling for men and MRPG for women.

CONCLUSIONS

Those changing gambling behaviours during the initial Covid-19 lockdown (e.g. increasing gambling frequency or starting a new gambling activity) are potentially vulnerable to gambling harms.