The impact of COVID-19 lockdown on gambling habit: A cross-sectional study from Italy

Abstract

Background and aimsFew preliminary studies have shown an impact of COVID-19 confinement on gambling habits. We aim to evaluate short-term effects of lockdown restrictions on gambling behaviors in Italy.MethodsWithin the project Lost in Italy, a web-based cross-sectional study was conducted on a representative sample of 6,003 Italians aged 18–74 years, enrolled during April 27–May 3 2020, and were asked to report gambling activity before the lockdown and at the time of interview.ResultsThe prevalence of participants reporting any gambling decreased from 16.3% before lockdown to 9.7% during lockdown. Traditional gambling decreased from 9.9 to 2.4% and online gambling from 9.9 to 8.0%. Among gamblers, median time of gambling grew from 4.5 to 5.1 h/month. Among non-players before lockdown, 1.1% started playing. Among players before lockdown, 19.7% increased gambling activity. Multivariate analysis showed an increase in gambling activity in younger generations (p for trend = 0.001), current smokers (odds ratio, OR 1.48), users of electronic cigarettes (OR 1.63), heated tobacco products (OR 1.82), cannabis (OR 5.16), psychotropic drugs (OR 3.93), and subjects having hazardous alcohol drinking (OR 1.93). Self-reported low quality of life (OR 1.97), low sleep quantity (OR 2.00), depressive symptoms (OR 3.06) and anxiety symptoms (OR 2.93) were significantly related to an increase in total gambling activity during lockdown.Discussion and conclusionsAlthough gambling substantially decreased during lockdown, time spent in gambling slightly increased. The strong relationship found between compromised mental health and addictive behaviors calls for urgent policies to prevent vulnerable populations from increasing and developing severe gambling addiction.

No Significant Changes in Addictive and Problematic Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Related Lockdowns: A Three-Wave Longitudinal Study

“…Although several studies reported that participants might have experienced elevated self-perceived frequency of the examined behaviors based on retrospective assessment techniques ( Håkansson, 2020 ; Gainsbury et al, 2021 ; Lugo et al, 2021 ; Sallie et al, 2021 ; Wardle et al, 2021 ), it seems that “hard data” and participants’ perception of their own behaviors do not completely overlap ( Auer et al, 2020 ; Auer and Griffiths, 2021 ). Due to potential recall bias ( Schmier and Halpern, 2004 ; Hipp et al, 2020 ), findings based on repeated measurements have stronger evidential values than studies using retrospective reports (i.e., asking participants to think back and report their use – frequency or symptom severity – at pre-pandemic times).…”

“…There is a large body of cross-sectional survey studies conducted during the pandemic, working with retrospective methods (i.e., asking participants to think back to the pre-pandemic times and comparing it to current use) regarding the frequency of the given behavior (e.g., Håkansson, 2020 ; Gainsbury et al, 2021 ; Lugo et al, 2021 ; Sallie et al, 2021 ; Wardle et al, 2021 ). However, there is a relative lack of longitudinal studies.…”

Italians Do It … Less. COVID-19 Lockdown Impact on Sexual Activity: Evidence From a Large Representative Sample of Italian Adults

“…Other details of the study and sampling methodology are provided elsewhere. 8 Recruited subjects filled an online self-administered questionnaire, including detailed information on demographic and socio-economic characteristics, such as marital status, education, number of rooms, and number of people living at home. From the number of rooms and the number of people at home, we derived the ratio of household inhabitants per room.…”

COVID-19 pandemic impact on people with diabetes: results from a large representative sample of Italian older adults

“…Available data on the impact of NPIs on health are inconsistent and inconclusive: cross-sectional assessments generally suggest an overall detrimental role of the pandemic and restrictions on lifestyles, mental health, and addictions [13] , [14] . Our previous studies on a representative sample of Italian households [15] showed huge implications on mental health symptoms [16] , smoking habits [17] , addictive behaviours [18] , and sexual activity [19] .…”