Gambling and crime: An exploration of gambling availability and culture in an English prison

Abstract

Background: There is evidence that prisoners have the highest rate of problem gambling in any population, but little is known about the nature of in-prison gambling, the motives for it or how it relates to prior gambling behaviour.Aims: To investigate the prevalence and type of gambling prior to prison and the prevalence, type, and reasons for gambling in prison.Methods: Two hundred and eighty-two male volunteers in a Category B male prison in England completed a questionnaire which included the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI).Results: One hundred and twenty-six (45%) reported gambling in prison, with eighty-one (30%) of participants reporting that gambling was a normal part of prison life.Pre-prison behaviour, whether type of index offence or prior gambling, had little relationship to in-prison gambling.Frequency of gambling in prison increased with increasing PGSI risk category. The most common types of gambling in prison were card/dice games, sports and ball games, while the most common motives were entertainment, excitement or sense of challenge and to win prizes, with significant differences in motive between PGSI risk categories. Prison canteen items formed the most common currency gambled.

The prevalence of gambling problems in prison populations: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Of the 26 included studies, publication years ranged from 1993 ( Templer, Kaiser, & Siscoe, 1993 ) to 2023 ( Kirchmann-Kallas et al, 2023 ). Studies were conducted in USA ( k = 7; Anderson, 1999 ; Kerber, Hickey, Astroth, & Kim, 2012 ; Templer et al, 1993 ; Walters, 1997 ; Walters & Contri, 1998 ; Westphal & Johnson, 2006 ; Zorland, Kuperminc, Mooss, Gilmore, & Emshoff, 2013 ), Australia ( k = 4; Lahn, 2005 ; Riley & Oakes, 2015 ; Riley et al, 2017 , 2018 ), New Zealand ( k = 3; Abbott, McKenna, & Giles, 2005 ; Abbott & McKenna, 2005 ; Sullivan, Brown, & Skinner, 2008 ), UK ( k = 3; May-Chahal, Wilson, Humphreys, & Anderson, 2012 ; May-Chahal, Humphreys, Clifton, Francis, & Reith, 2016 ; Smith et al, 2022 ), Canada ( k = 2; Turner, Preston, Saunders, McAvoy, & Jain, 2009 , 2012 ), Germany ( k = 2; Kirchmann-Kallas et al, 2023 ; Zurhold, Verthein, & Kalke, 2014 ), and one study each from the following countries: Colombia ( Ruiz-Pérez & Echeburúa, 2019 ), Finland ( Lind, Salonen, Järvinen-Tassopoulos, Alho, & Castrén, 2019 ), Japan ( Yokotani et al, 2019 ), Poland ( Lelonek-Kulela, 2020 ) and Sweden ( Widinghoff et al, 2019 ).…”

“…The majority of studies ( k = 15) assessed gambling problems with the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) ( Abbott et al, 2005 ; Abbott & McKenna, 2005 ; Anderson, 1999 ; Kerber et al, 2012 ; Lahn, 2005 ; Sullivan et al, 2008 ; Lelonek-Kulela, 2020 ; Templer, 1993 ; Turner et al, 2009 , 2012 ; Walters, 1997 ; Walters & Contri, 1998 ; Westphal et al, 2006 ; Yokotani et al, 2019 ; Zorland et al, 2013 ), some ( k = 4) studies used the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) measure ( May-Chahal et al, 2012 , 2016 ; Smith et al, 2022 ; Turner, Preston, McAvoy, & Gillam, 2012 ), others ( k = 4) used the Early Intervention Gambling Health Test (EIGHT) ( Riley & Oakes, 2015 ; Riley et al, 2017 , 2018 ; Sullivan et al, 2008 ), and ( k = 3), and some studies ( k = 3) used the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) or DSM-IV-JUNIOR (JR) criteria ( Turner et al, 2012 ; Westphal & Johnson, 2006 ; Widinghoff et al, 2019 ). One study each used the BQPG measure ( Ruiz-Pérez & Echeburúa, 2019 ), the Lie/Bet Questionnaire ( Zurhold et al, 2014 ), BBGS measure ( Lind et al, 2019 ), and KFG ( Petry, 1996 ).…”

“…In a study among prisoners in the UK 30% agreed that gambling was a normal part of prison life, and 8% started gambling when being incarcerated. Beyond money, currency used were food, cigarettes, drugs and drinks ( Smith, Sharman, & Roberts, 2022 ). Abbott, McKenna and Giles (2005) and Abbott and McKenna (2005) , reporting from a New Zealand prison, found that gambling was prevalent both among male and female prisoners.…”

The role of probation in supporting people who have experienced gambling and crime-related harms

“…University of Lincoln pre-sentence reporting, community sentences, post-release supervision, or a combination. This article provides a summary of key findings from a report published by The Howard League entitled '"Surviving, not living": The lived experiences of crime and gambling' (Smith, 2022), with a focus on the lived experience reports of probation interactions. The research (undertaken in 2021) involved semi-structured interviews with 22 people, eighteen of whom were people who had committed crime as a result of gambling and four were family members of people directly impacted.…”

“…Prison populations have consistently been found to include the highest prevalence of problem gambling amongst any population (Adoplhe, et al, 2019;Williams, 2005;) with the prevalence of problem gambling in English prisons found to be 12.1% (May-Chahal et al, 2017). In a recent publication, 45% of participants reported gambling in prison, 28% were categorised as having experienced moderate or problem gambling prior to prison, and 30% reported that gambling was a normal part of prison life (Smith et al, 2022).…”