Problem gambling, associations with comorbid health conditions, substance use, and behavioural addictions: Opportunities for pathways to treatment

2020

IJERPH

Self Cite

134

187

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed everyday life, and policy makers have raised concerns about possible changes in gambling patterns during the pandemic. This study aimed to examine whether self-reported gambling has increased during the pandemic, and to examine potential correlates of such a change. This general population survey study in Sweden collected self-report data from 2016 web survey members (51 percent men, nine percent moderate-risk/problem gamblers). Correlates of increased gambling and increased gambling specifically due to COVID-19-related cancellation of sports were calculated. Four percent reported an overall gambling increase during the pandemic. The proportion of individuals reporting an increase, compared to individuals reporting a decrease, was markedly higher for online casinos (0.62), online horse betting (0.76) and online lotteries (0.73), and lower for sports betting (0.11). Overall, gambling increases were independently associated with gambling problems and increased alcohol consumption. In the sub-group, where there was an increase in specific gambling types in response to cancelled sports betting events, rates of gambling problems were high. In conclusion, only a minority report increased gambling in response to the pandemic, but this group has markedly higher gambling problems and changes in alcohol consumption, and may represent a sub-group with a particularly high vulnerability. This calls for preventive action in people with higher gambling risks in response to the pandemic.

Section: Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in Gambling Behavior during the COVID-19 Pandemic—A Web Survey Study in Sweden

2020

IJERPH

Self Cite

134

187

“…Shopping habits, including compulsive shopping, can be assumed to contribute to an unknown extent to short-term borrowing in society [37]. Likewise, it can be assumed that shopping patterns and gambling patterns may partly overlap; a recent web survey study in the present setting examined health and behavioral correlates of problem gambling and demonstrated an association between problem gambling and symptoms of addictive shopping [38]. Addictive shopping, or compulsive shopping, presents a relatively well-documented pattern of symptoms, and although hitherto not recognized as a separate diagnostic construct, this condition has been increasingly outlined in the scientific literature in recent years [39].…”

Section: Potential Predictors Of Defaulted Loansmentioning

confidence: 89%

Role of Gambling in Payback Failure in Consumer Credit—Data from a Large Body of Material Regarding Consumer Loan Recipients in Sweden

2020

IJERPH

Self Cite

Indebtedness is associated with poor health outcomes, and problem gambling may contribute to indebtedness through consumer credits related to gambling expenses. The assessment of consumers’ applications for loans may be an opportunity to detect and prevent further problem gambling. The present study analyzed a number of variables including gambling-related transactions and their association with payback failure in 48,197 loans to 20,750 individuals in Sweden. Sums and frequency of gambling deposits or withdrawals generally did not predict failure to pay back loans. Instead, having a loan defaulted at some time was associated with a baseline pattern describing a theoretical loss-of-control gambling pattern (short-term intense gambling), with a higher ratio of gambling deposits or withdrawals per occasion, and with several instances of gambling in close association with a loan. While several group differences were modest, signs of rapid, short-term and intense gambling, rather than gambling itself, may identify risk of payback failure and risk of indebtedness. Implications for early problem-gambling detection and prevention, such as by gambling operators and financial institutes, are discussed and may promote better public health in relation to gambling indebtedness.

“…In the present study, the researchers collaborated with the companies I-Mind consulting and Patient Information Broker (PIB), who gathered the data from an anonymized procedure, where Userneeds web panel members' survey answers were sent to the authors were completely anonymized, and IP addresses of the individuals were blinded and impossible to trace back. The present type of data inclusion, from the same market survey company and using the same methodology, has been used in a number of prior studies in the present setting with a focus on gambling and online behavior in the general population [30][31][32].…”

Section: Recruitment and Study Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Who chooses to enroll in a new national gambling self-exclusion system? A general population survey in Sweden

Henzel

2020

Harm Reduct J

Self Cite

Background Self-exclusion from gambling is a common method for prevention and harm reduction in hazardous gambling. However, few national self-exclusion programs, involving a large number of gambling operators and activities in a country, have been assessed scientifically. This study aimed to examine characteristics of individuals who chose to enroll in a recently introduced (January, 2019) national self-exclusion system in Sweden. Methods Adults and adolescents (from age 16 and above) were addressed with an online survey sent to members of the web panel of a market survey company (1940 respondents). Psychological distress, previous history of addictive disorders, sociodemographic data, and recent history of gambling patterns and over-indebtedness were recorded. Logistic regression tested associations with self-exclusion, with unadjusted analyses conducted for the sub-group of moderate-risk or problem gamblers. Results Four percent reported having self-excluded using the new national self-exclusion system. In logistic regression, self-exclusion was significantly associated with younger age (OR 0.65 [0.54–0.79] for increasing age groups) and with the highest level of problem gambling (OR 2.84 [1.10–7.37]). In moderate-risk or problem gamblers, in unadjusted analyses, younger age (p < 0.05) and psychological distress (p = 0.02) were associated with self-exclusion. In none- or low-risk gamblers, 3% had self-excluded, which was significantly associated with younger age (p < 0.001) and self-reported over-indebtedness (p < 0.001). Conclusions In a national, multi-venue online and land-based self-exclusion system, aiming to reduce the harm of problem gambling, self-exclusion is expectedly more common in problem gamblers, but also occurs among people without recent gambling problems. Further efforts may be needed in order to increase gambling self-exclusion in problem gamblers, and research in reasons for self-excluding, even in non-problem gamblers, is needed.