Fantasy sports and loot boxes share similarities with gambling yet remain largely unregulated as such, creating ambiguity in how individuals perceive and engage with these activities. While participation in both activities has been linked to problem gambling, whether individuals’ classification of these activities as gambling is associated with differential risk has not been examined. This study introduces the concept of classification-behavior discordance, defined as the misalignment between how an individual classifies an activity and whether they participate in it. Using data from an online survey of 4,016 college students enrolled at public colleges and universities in Nevada, United States, we constructed four discordance groups for each activity based on the intersection of classification and participation: non-participants, aware participants, unaware participants, and non-participating classifiers. We conducted separate binary logistic regression models for fantasy sports and loot boxes to examine associations between discordance group membership and problem gambling. Results revealed divergent patterns across activities. For loot boxes, classifying the activity as gambling was associated with significantly elevated problem gambling risk among participants, whereas for fantasy sports, participating without classifying the activity as gambling was associated with significantly lower risk. These findings highlight the importance of considering individuals’ subjective classification of gambling-like activities in problem gambling screening, prevention, and regulatory efforts.
In tournament poker, skilled and profitable players can increase their stakes (e.g., enter tournaments with higher entry fees) in mathematically logical attempts to win more money faster. There are open questions about what types of players move up in stakes, and if those who move up in stakes are more likely to experience gambling-related problems. The current study addresses this issue by examining the actual tournament player records of a large European online gambling operator. For 1,603 players, we documented instances of moving up in stakes over a 66-month study period (February 2015 to July 2020). A k-means cluster analysis suggested four groups of players. Three groups were roughly defined by increasing levels of poker tournament involvement and ROI: Group A, least involved, worst ROI, n = 775; Group B, in the middle, n = 724; Group C, most involved, best (though still negative) ROI, n = 102. The last group, Group D, contained outliers (n = 2). Members of more involved groups were more likely than members of less involved groups to move up in stakes at least once. Members of Groups A and C were less likely to have a responsible gambling (RG) related account closure (either a temporary “cool-off” period preventing gambling on the website or a self- or operator-initiated account closure) than members of Group B. Moving up had no observable association with having an RG-related account closure within groups. Among less and moderately involved players, moving up in stakes is likely associated with increased poker tournament participation, but not with RG-related account closures.
Online gambling is a growing public health concern whose harms extend to the family, yet its familial consequences remain underexplored in contexts where gambling is illegal and extended-family ties are strong. This study examined how men who gamble online perceive gambling to affect their families in Siirt, Türkiye. Using a qualitative exploratory design, in-person semi-structured interviews with nine married or previously married men who currently or formerly gambled online (recruited via purposive and snowball sampling) were analyzed with a hybrid deductive-inductive, codebook thematic analysis (Fereday & Muir-Cochrane, 2006), informed by the six phases of Braun and Clarke (2006). Four themes were identified: entry into online gambling and the experience of addiction; the internal disintegration of the nuclear family; the household's economic collapse and drift into crime; and the extended family, stigmatization, and the cultural framing of harm. Participants perceived gambling to erode communication and trust, dispossess the household, and displace men from the provider role, while family responses followed conventional gendered lines-disrupting the material division of roles while reactivating a traditional gender order. Distinctive contextual mechanisms emerged, including the extended family's collective debt-clearing in exchange for religious oaths and the operation of stigma through kinship networks that threatened collective family honor. Because all participants were gamblers, the findings reflect their perceptions of family impact rather than the direct experiences of affected others. The results extend a predominantly Western evidence base and underscore the need for culturally sensitive, family-inclusive support that works with existing kinship structures while protecting those most burdened.
Gambling increasingly occurs across multiple access environments, yet research has often treated online and offline gambling as interchangeable modes of access rather than as distinct patterns of behavioural engagement. The present study examined whether gambling channel engagement was associated with type of game, financial literacy dimensions, financial anxiety, and national context. The study included 2,000 adult gamblers recruited in Italy (n = 1,000) and the United Kingdom (n = 1,000). Gambling channel was classified as offline-only, online-only, or mixed-channel engagement. A sequential multinomial logistic modelling strategy examined the contribution of gambling type and country, followed by Financial Knowledge, Financial Behaviour, Financial Attitudes, and Financial Anxiety. Country-specific models, formal interaction tests, demographic and socioeconomic adjustment, and non-parametric bootstrap analyses were also conducted. Gambling type was the strongest predictor of channel engagement. Strategic gambling and participation across multiple gambling-type categories were consistently associated with online and mixed-channel gambling relative to offline gambling. Financial Knowledge independently predicted both online and mixed-channel engagement, whereas Financial Behaviour, Financial Attitudes, and Financial Anxiety were not significant after adjustment for gambling type and country. UK participants had higher odds of online and mixed-channel gambling than Italian participants. Country-specific analyses showed that Financial Knowledge predicted online gambling in both countries and mixed-channel gambling in the UK. Formal interaction testing indicated that the association between Financial Knowledge and mixed-channel gambling was significantly stronger in the UK than in Italy. The findings suggest that gambling channel engagement reflects broader patterns of behavioural diversification rather than a simple preference for a particular mode of access. Financial Knowledge may be associated with participation across more complex and flexible gambling environments, although its role appears to vary across national contexts.
This cross-sectional study aimed to describe the prevalence of gambling with money; the factors associated with gambling; and the time trends prevalence of gambling in the period 2018 to 2021 focusing on gender differences. Data from 60,331 adolescents from a Nationwide Population-Based Study (ESTUDES) conducted in 2019 and 2021 in Spain were analyzed. The main exposure was the self-report of gambling with money. We analyzed sociodemographic characteristics, gambling related variables, and videogames and internet related variables. Multivariable models adjusted for several variables, as gambling modalities or gender, were applied. Gambling with money declined generally among adolescents, but for some subgroups an increase was observed, as for videogames players, esports spectators or players (changes:2.4
Since 2018, the legalization of online gambling in the United States has expanded rapidly, raising concerns about its financial impact on households. This paper examines how legalization affects credit card debt and other financial outcomes using household panel data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation. Using the staggered timing of legalization across states, I estimate a difference-in-differences model. I find that the legalization of online gambling increases credit card debt by 11.9
Gambling problem recognition is an understudied construct with theoretical relevance to the behaviour change process. This study is a psychometric validation of the four-item Gambling Problem Recognition Scale (GPRS). A secondary analysis of data from the Addiction Substitution and Natural Recovery longitudinal study was conducted. Confirmatory factor analyses evaluated the fit of the GRPS to a single factor model, Kendall’s tau correlations were used to test convergent and divergent validity, and logistic regression was used to evaluated the incremental validity of the GPRS after adjusting for other factors that explain variance in gambling help-seeking. Converging analyses provided evidence of a strong general factor underlying the GPRS, though there is evidence of local dependence between items. Total scores on the GPRS correlated strongly with problem gambling severity, gambling-related harm, and other measures of problem recognition, and more weakly with measures of gambling participation and psychological distress. The GPRS also explains variance in help-seeking above and beyond other relevant factors, such as problem gambling severity. This study provides evidence for the validity of the GPRS as a measure of gambling problem recognition. The availability of an adequate measure for problem recognition facilitates future research regarding this theoretically-relevant but understudied construct. To this end, our findings provide preliminary evidence that problem recognition uniquely contributes to gambling help-seeking and thus, may be implicated in the process of recovery from gambling problems.
Gambling blocking software can be downloaded onto a user’s device to prevent them from accessing online gambling sites, including those in offshore jurisdictions. This study investigated user experiences with a gambling blocking software and examined its relationship with holistic recovery from gambling problems. A cross-sectional survey was administered to current blocking software users internationally (N = 156). Measures assessed lifetime gambling severity, software acceptability and satisfaction, motivations for uptake, use of additional supports, software breaches, and recovery outcomes using the multidimensional Recovery Index for Gambling Disorder. Participants were predominantly male, engaged mainly in online gambling, and most reported moderate to severe lifetime gambling disorder. The blocking software demonstrated high acceptability and satisfaction, with users valuing its perceived effectiveness, free access, and comprehensive site blocking. Participants reported greatest recovery in gambling reduction, urge coping, and recovery wisdom domains, while lower scores were observed in life functioning, interpersonal relationships, and mental health. Regression analyses did not identify gambling severity, blocking duration, software breaches, or number of supports used as significant predictors of recovery, although social support was positively associated with recovery in exploratory models. Qualitative feedback highlighted perceived benefits of the blocking software alongside participant-identified suggestions for stronger blocking mechanisms, increased personalisation, and extended or permanent blocking options. Findings suggest that gambling blocking software may support aspects of recovery, particularly behavioural control, compared to broader recovery domains. Further longitudinal research is needed to clarify long-term outcomes and optimal integration with complementary supports.
This study examined whether direct expert elicitation of gambling harm severity, applied to blinded first-hand narrative accounts, produces ordered and consistent estimates with respect to quantitative self-reports. As such, this represented independent convergent validation evidence of the Gambling Harms Scales (GHS) instruments for people who gamble and affected others (AOs). Six experts with significant research or clinical expertise in the gambling field evaluated 60 transcripts from people who gamble and AOs experiencing varying levels of gambling-related harm (no-harm, low-harm, moderate-harm, and high-harm). Each transcript was evaluated using four protocols (visual analogue scale, rank ordering, time trade-off, and standard gamble). Narratives from participants with higher levels of harm (as assessed by the GHS) were associated with significantly higher expert-elicited health disutility. Disutility increased monotonically with GHS harm bands, and this pattern was consistent across all four elicitation protocols and all six expert raters. Pooled disutility estimates were 0.084 for low-harm, 0.187 for moderate-harm, and 0.221 for high-harm. Harm severity elicited by interviews and expert assessment was consistent with harm severity as assessed by the brief GHS measures. Expert evaluation of blinded narrative accounts provides independent external evidence supporting the GHS suite of instruments as measures of gambling-related harm.
Problem gambling is increasingly recognized as a significant public health concern, yet the psychological mechanisms through which stressful life experiences contribute to gambling problems remain insufficiently understood. Drawing on the stress-coping framework and resilience theory, the present study examined whether coping strategies mediate the relationship between stressful life events and problem gambling, and whether psychological resilience moderates these associations. A total of 527 lottery players from mainland China (Mage = 35.37, SD = 9.48, 67.36
Previous research suggests that loot box engagement is associated with gambling problems and gaming disorder symptoms, but population-based evidence from Central and Eastern Europe is limited. The present research aimed to examine sociodemographic characteristics of loot box engagement in Poland and to investigate its association with gambling problems and gaming disorder symptoms. Study 1 used a representative sample of Polish Internet users with 643 active gamers (319 female; M = 40.02 years; SD = 15.33; age range: 18–79). Study 2 included 1012 gamers (547 female; M = 33.86 years; SD = 10.05; age range: 16–72) who made payments in free electronic games. Study 3 involved 2021 gamers (1027 females; M = 34.88 years; SD = 10.70; age range: 18–75) who played games with loot boxes. We assessed loot box engagement, sociodemographic variables, and indicators of gambling problems and gaming disorder symptoms. In Study 1, playing games with loot boxes was more common among males, younger individuals, students, those with less education, and single participants. In Studies 2 and 3, opening loot boxes was associated with greater GP and higher GD symptoms. Paying for loot boxes was associated with higher gambling frequency, GP, and GD symptoms in Study 3. Stronger correlations between GP and GD symptoms were observed among gamers who paid for loot boxes. Loot box engagement, particularly paid use, is associated with gambling and gaming-related problems in Polish adults. Greater engagement with loot boxes may blur the boundary between gaming and gambling.
While previous studies have addressed gambling-related risks and harms from various perspectives, research on how these risks and harms relate to the experiences of people with disabilities remains limited. Furthermore, because gambling-related harms do not manifest in the same way across all groups, research should consider disability type and disability-related contexts rather than treating disability as a single category when examining the relationship between disability and gambling. This commentary reviews how disability has been addressed in existing gambling research and discusses how disability serves as an important context that can influence gambling accessibility, gambling-related harms, prevention, treatment, and recovery processes. This commentary also suggests that future research should clarify the definition and measurement of disability, analyze differences across disability types, and examine the accessibility of prevention and treatment services. This approach can serve as a starting point for integrating disability more systematically into gambling research and for developing a more comprehensive understanding of gambling-related harms.
Online gambling and related adverse consequences are increasing among young adults. The present study examined and compared the psychometric properties of the Chinese versions of three online gambling measures: the Online Gambling Disorder Questionnaire (OGD-Q), Online Gambling Symptom Assessment Scale (OGSAS), and Gambling Urge Scale (GUS), among young adult online gamblers. The sample comprised 986 Taiwanese young adults aged 18–30 years who had gambled online in the past year. Internal consistency (Cronbach’s α and McDonald’s ω), factor structure (confirmatory factor analysis [CFA]), measurement invariance across sex/educational level, and concurrent validity (Pearson correlation coefficients with each other and the external criterion measure of Gambling Related Cognitions Scale [GRCS]) of the three measures were examined. The Chinese versions of the OGSAS, OGD-Q, and GUS all had excellent internal consistency (α = 0.96 to 0.97; ω = 0.96 to 0.98). The CFA results supported the original one-factor structure of OGD-Q and GUS and the original three-factor structure of OGSAS. Moreover, the factor structures of the three measures were invariant across sex and educational level. Concurrent validity of the three measures was supported by their mutually significant associations and association with the GRCS. The results provided robust support for the psychometric properties of the Chinese versions of the OGSAS, OGD-Q, and GUS among young Taiwanese adult online gamblers. The Chinese versions of the OGSAS, OGD-Q, and GUS can be applied to evaluate levels of online gambling and urge among young Chinese-speaking adults.
Problematic gambling is associated with substantial individual and societal harms, which may be intensified by the accessibility, anonymity, and captivating design of online gambling products. In this domain, advanced technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence and data analytics) are increasingly recommended for prevention, early detection, and harm reduction. This study aimed to examine the current and potential uses of advanced technologies in gambling. Forty-five semi-structured interviews were conducted with social/legal science (n = 24) and technology (n = 21) experts. Data were analysed using thematic analysis, beginning with a deductive approach followed by an inductive analysis. A total of 182 codes were identified from social/legal science professionals, and 228 from technology experts. Four overarching themes were identified: (i) characterisation of contemporary gambling; (ii) applications and implications of advanced technologies; (iii) regulatory frameworks and challenges; and (iv) recommendations and solutions. Profit-driven design practices, heightened vulnerabilities in online gambling environments, regulatory gaps, and concerns regarding algorithmic opacity and data use were highlighted. Advanced technologies were viewed as having a dual role, with potential both to exacerbate gambling-related harm and to enable earlier identification of risky behaviours and targeted interventions. Findings indicate that responsible gambling cannot rely solely on technological solutions (e.g., behavioural monitoring and limit-setting) and should be instead integrated with community-level strategies, public education, and robust regulatory oversight. Leveraging technological innovation alongside user protection is essential, requiring interdisciplinary collaboration, a public health-oriented approach, and transparent, evidence-based and ethically governed frameworks. Implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed.
This study aimed to examine the serial mediating roles of perceived social support and life satisfaction in the relationship between religiosity and online gambling addiction within the framework of Conservation of Resources (COR) theory. A total of 771 individuals (34.4
Impairments in cognitive and emotional control are widely implicated in both behavioral and substance-related addictive behaviors. However, it remains unclear whether problem gambling severity and nicotine use risk are characterized by distinct neurobehavioral profiles. The present study investigated differences in cognitive emotion regulation, impulsivity, inhibitory control, and risky decision-making among individuals with elevated problem gambling severity, individuals with elevated nicotine use risk, and healthy controls. To enhance the generalizability of existing findings, 450 participants (150 per group) were recruited in Iran, representing a non-Western cultural context, in 2024. Data were collected using validated Persian versions of the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI), Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND), Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS), Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ), Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART), and Go/No-Go Task. Participants with elevated problem gambling severity demonstrated significantly higher impulsivity, greater use of maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies, and poorer inhibitory control relative to both participants with elevated nicotine use risk and healthy controls. In contrast, participants with elevated nicotine use risk exhibited greater risky decision-making and selective impulsivity compared with healthy controls. Although some impairments overlapped across the two addiction-related groups, the findings indicated partially distinct neurobehavioral profiles. Specifically, elevated problem gambling severity was more strongly associated with maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation and inhibitory control deficits, whereas elevated nicotine use risk was characterized primarily by heightened risk-taking tendencies. These findings contribute to a more differentiated understanding of heterogeneity across addictive behaviors and may support the development of more targeted prevention and intervention approaches tailored to specific neurobehavioral profiles.
Technological advances and regulatory changes have substantially expanded access to sports wagering in the United States, raising concerns about gambling behaviors among collegiate athletes. Since 2004, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has conducted a large-scale survey every four years to monitor gambling behaviors among student-athletes. The present study examined trends in gambling among NCAA student-athletes over a twenty-year period. Data were drawn from five waves of the NCAA National Study on Collegiate Wagering conducted in 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2024. Across these cohorts, more than 100,000 student-athletes completed anonymous surveys assessing gambling participation, sports wagering behaviors, attitudes toward gambling, and problem gambling severity. Gambling activities were measured using the Gambling Activities Questionnaire, and gambling severity was assessed using DSM-IV-TR criteria for pathological gambling. Descriptive analyses were used to examine trends across survey years. Overall gambling participation declined over time, with increasing proportions of non-gamblers and decreasing rates of social gambling among both men and women. Rates of at-risk and probable pathological gambling remained low and relatively stable. Male student-athletes consistently reported higher gambling participation and sports wagering than females. Notable shifts included increases in fantasy sports betting, parlay bets, live in-game betting, and prop bets, often conducted through mobile platforms. Although overall gambling participation has declined, evolving forms of sports wagering and greater accessibility through online platforms present new challenges. Continued prevention, education, and responsible gambling policies are needed to protect student-athletes and preserve the integrity of college sports.
The widely cited estimate that there are approximately 'six others' affected per person with problem gambling implies, when projected to the population level, a count of affected others that is highly inconsistent with prevalence data - likely due to some combination of biased reporting and network clustering that inflates relationship counts relative to unique individuals. By reconciling conflicting reports from gamblers and those they harm, and explicitly modelling network clustering-where the same people are often harmed by multiple gamblers-we estimate that, at the population level, approximately 4.7 people are affected for every person with problem gambling. Correcting this population-level overestimate does not eliminate the prevention paradox: low- and moderate-risk gamblers still account for the majority (70%) of all vectors of harm transmission in the population, despite lower reconciled fan-out than problem gamblers. We also find that nearly one in four affected others are themselves at-risk gamblers due to network effects, experiencing roughly double the exposure of non-gamblers. Our reconciliation of the available evidence confirms that the transmission of gambling harm concentrates in dense social networks (including families) rather than dispersing randomly. The edge-conservation framework we develop can be updated as new data becomes available, and applies broadly to any behavioural harm that propagates through social networks.
Gambling-related harm affects not only the individual who gambles, but also their families, friends, and the wider community, referred to as affected others (AOs). AOs experience substantial harms across financial, relational, and psychological domains, yet remain underrepresented in treatment settings. Emerging evidence indicates that AOs have dual needs: support to manage their own gambling-related harm and guidance on how to support the person who gambles. However, these needs are underexplored, particularly beyond intimate partners. To address these gaps, this study asked two research questions: (1) what strategies do AOs use to reduce gambling-related harm, and (2) do these strategies differ by relationship type. A secondary analysis of 44 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with partners, family members, friends, and colleagues was conducted using reflexive thematic analysis. Three themes described how AOs navigated gambling-related harm within this dual-needs framework: Holding it together (protecting wellbeing by talking to others, seeking professional support, setting boundaries, and creating distance); Pushing for change (trying to influence gambling behaviour by restricting access to shared finances, setting spending limits, and encouraging help-seeking); and Different needs, limited options (a desire for practical, skill-based supports alongside barriers to access). Across themes, partners tended to use more direct strategies such as ultimatums and financial controls, whereas non-partners more often adopted indirect, advisory or supportive roles. These relational differences suggest that interventions should be tailored to relationship type and explicitly build AO-focused support, so that available resources align with how AOs are actually managing gambling-related harm rather than treating AOs as a uniform group.
The widely adopted functional definition of gambling-related harm implies a three-part pathway: gambling engagement gives rise to harmful consequences, which in turn reduce health and wellbeing. This pathway has not previously been tested in general-population data. A population-weighted Australian analytic sample (N=4,001) was used to test whether this structure holds empirically. A risk-weighted gambling involvement index was derived from form-specific frequencies, with greater weight given to forms most strongly associated with gambling problems. Weighted mediation models showed that gambling harms statistically accounted for the observed association between gambling involvement and reduced wellbeing: indirect effects through harms were consistently negative and robust to demographic adjustment, while direct effects of gambling involvement were essentially zero once harms were included. The pattern held for both an expanded 26-item harm composite and the shorter 10-item gambling harms screen (GHS-10), and was clearest for life satisfaction and mental wellbeing. These results provide the first cross-sectional pathway-based support for the structure implied by this definition in representative population data. As a corollary, they support the construct validity of direct harm screens, which behave as expected of measures occupying the harm position in this pathway. Population-level effect sizes were modest, reflecting the concentration of harm burden in a minority of gamblers, but the wellbeing deficit among those reporting harms was substantial.
