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Smit K, Jiang H, Rockloff M, Room R, MacLean S, Laslett AM. Associations Between Heavy Episodic Drinking, Drinking While Gambling, and Risky Gambling. J Gambl Stud 2023; 39:1597-1610. [PMID: 37402117 PMCID: PMC10628030 DOI: 10.1007/s10899-023-10235-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/29/2023] [Indexed: 07/05/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Understanding how patterns of drinking are associated with risky gambling in Australia is needed to inform an effective approach to minimise harm. METHODS This cross-sectional questionnaire study reports on 2,704 subsampled participants who completed survey questions about their patterns of drinking. With logistic regressions, we examined whether frequency of heavy episodic drinking (HED) and alcohol use while gambling were associated with risky gambling while controlling for sociodemographic variables. RESULTS Occasional HED and monthly HED were associated with any gambling (versus no gambling), but frequent HED was not significantly associated with gambling. The opposite pattern was found when predicting risky gambling. Occasional HED (i.e. less than monthly) was not significantly associated, but a higher frequency of HED (at least weekly) was associated with a higher likelihood of risky gambling. Drinking alcohol while gambling was associated with risky gambling, over and above HED. The combination of HED and use of alcohol while gambling appeared to significantly increase the likelihood of risky gambling. CONCLUSIONS The association of HED and alcohol use while gambling with risky gambling highlights the importance of preventing heavy alcohol use among gamblers. The links between these forms of drinking and risky gambling further suggests that individuals who engage in both activities are specifically prone to gambling harm. Policies should therefore discourage alcohol use while gambling for example by prohibiting serving alcohol at reduced prices or to gamblers who show signs of being affected by alcohol and informing individuals of the risks associated with alcohol use while gambling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Koen Smit
- Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, NR1 Building, Melbourne, VIC, 3086, Australia.
| | - Heng Jiang
- Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, NR1 Building, Melbourne, VIC, 3086, Australia
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
- Department of Public Health, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, La Trobe, Australia
| | - Matthew Rockloff
- Experimental Gambling Research Laboratory, Central Queensland University, Queensland, Australia
| | - Robin Room
- Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, NR1 Building, Melbourne, VIC, 3086, Australia
- Centre for Social Research on Alcohol and Drugs, Department of Public Health Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, 106 91, Sweden
| | - Sarah MacLean
- Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, NR1 Building, Melbourne, VIC, 3086, Australia
- Social work and social policy, School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe, Australia
| | - Anne-Marie Laslett
- Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, NR1 Building, Melbourne, VIC, 3086, Australia
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
- National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia
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