Background and aims: Though women make up roughly one third of all problem gamblers, research has typically focused on male problem gamblers. Recent research has started to shift its attention toward the importance of gender. However, studies rarely attempt to understand gender differences in problem gambling or subject these differences to thorough multivariate analyses. To address some of the gaps in our knowledge of gender differences, we examine whether patterns of gambling behavior and psychological factors mediate the relationship between gender and problem gambling. . Conclusions: Men are more likely to be problem gamblers than women, and this gender difference is understandable in terms of differences in patterns of gambling behavior. We conclude that men experience problems because they play riskier games and women experience problems because they prefer chance-based games, which are associated with significantly higher odds of problem gambling. We specify the three main ways that women's reasons for gambling -to escape or for empowerment -translate into chance-based games.

Parent problem gambling (PG) has pervasive adverse effects on children. These children experience considerable losses such as loss of trust, loss of safety and stability, as well as financial and emotional losses. They are at greater risk for maltreatment and mental health disorders, and they are also at risk for intergenerational transmission of PG. These children are two to four times more likely to develop PG than children of non-PG parents. To date, there has been a dearth of research examining the impact of parent PG on children, and even less research focusing on reducing risks in children of PG parents. The goal of this systematic review was to identify PG prevention programs for children and examine the types of prevention used and whether these programs target specific subgroups. Our search retained 16 studies examining PG prevention programs for children. Results indicated that all of the PG prevention programs in the selected studies are universal and do not target children of PG parents or any other specific subgroups. A large gap is the absence of secondary and tertiary PG prevention programs for children. Another gap is the lack of family focused prevention strategies which the substance use literature has shown to be the most effective form of prevention. Further research is needed on parent PG and ways of reducing risks and increasing protective factors in children and families. A public health framework must be adopted to delay onset, reduce risks and minimize consequences in children of PG parents.

Despite the convergence of the gambling and gaming worlds, the majority of studies of gambling behaviour are void of gaming behaviour and vice versa. Further, many studies examine specific age ranges rather than covering the entire span of adolescence and young adulthood. The current study improves our knowledge of gambling and gaming behaviours, as well as their convergence, by examining young people aged 8 to 24 and parents of children 8 to 17 years in Ontario. Descriptive and bivariate analyses were performed on a survey of 2,651 Ontarians (678 adolescents, 973 young adults, and 1,000 parents who reported on themselves and their child). Young people and parents are engaging in games that combine gambling and gaming at substantial rates and frequencies, and playing these games is associated with a higher level of risk. In this sample, playing video games for money and social casino games were associated with a higher level of gambling problems among adolescents (p < .001, p =.001), young adults (p < .001, p < .001), and parents (p < .001, p < .001). Further, parent reports of their own and their child’s gambling (p < .001), social casino play (p < .001), and gambling concerns were linked (p < .001). In summary, we found that playing games that combine gambling and gaming was associated with increased risk across youth age groups. Parents who reported gambling, social casino play, and gambling concerns also tended to report these behaviours among and concerns for their children.Résumé Malgré la convergence entre les univers des jeux de hasard et des jeux vidéo, la majorité des études sur le comportement des joueurs excluent l’une ou l’autre activité. De plus, elles se limitent à une tranche d’âge précise plutôt que de couvrir la période entière de l’adolescence et de la jeune vie adulte. Notre enquête ajoute aux connaissances sur les habitudes en matière de jeux de hasard et de jeux vidéo et la convergence entre ces activités. Elle a été menée en Ontario auprès de jeunes âgés de huit à 24 ans et de parents d’enfants âgés de huit à 17 ans. 2651 Ontariens (678 adolescents, 973 jeunes adultes et 1000 parents répondant en leur propre nom et en celui de leur enfant) ont répondu à un questionnaire dont les résultats ont fait l’objet d’une analyse descriptive et bivariée. Un grand nombre de jeunes et de parents combinent fréquemment jeux de hasard et jeux vidéo, une activité liée à un niveau de risque élevé. Dans notre échantillon, la pratique des jeux vidéo pour de l’argent et des jeux de casino est associée à un risque élevé de problèmes de jeu chez l’adolescent (p < .001, p =.001), le jeune adulte (p < .001, p < .001) et les parents (p < .001, p < .001). De plus, un lien a été établi entre les habitudes de jeu déclarées par les parents à propos d’eux-mêmes et de leurs enfants (p < .001), les jeux de casino (p < .001) et les problèmes de jeu (p < .001). La pratique combinée des jeux de hasard et des jeux vidéo est associée à une augmentation du risque dans tous les groupes d’âge. Ainsi, les comportements et les problèmes de jeu observés chez les parents tendent à se refléter chez leurs enfants.

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This study examined online gambling behavior during COVID-19 land-based gambling restrictions and associations with changes in mental health, impacts on household income due to the pandemic, financially focused motivations, and symptoms of gambling problems. A repeated online survey was administered to adult gamblers in Ontario, Canada. Wave 1 was conducted at the beginning of the first COVID-19 lockdown (April 2020) and wave 2 in August 2020. Respondents (N = 940) completed validated self-report questionnaires related to depression and anxiety, financial motivation, financial impacts due to the pandemic, online gambling behaviors, and problem gambling symptomatology. A cluster analysis identified three subgroups: no online gambling (subgroup 1), engagement in a range of gambling games online and change in gambling involvement (i.e., some increased and some decreased gambling; subgroup 2), and predominantly online lottery play with no change in online gambling (subgroup 3). Respondents who reported increased anxiety and depression symptom severity between the two waves and those who experienced greater symptoms of problem gambling and negative impacts on household income due to COVID-19 were most likely to be found in subgroup 2. Greater financial focus was also noted in this group. Results indicate a link between change in online gambling involvement during COVID-19 and increased mental health problems, elevated problem gambling severity, negative impacts on household income, and a greater financially focused self-concept. These results may help generate novel research questions examining short and longterm effects of the pandemic on online behaviors that inform policy and practice.

Purpose & Significance: Despite the popularity of lottery and scratchcards and some evidence of gambling problems among players, limited research focuses on the risks of lottery and scratchcard play and predictors of problems, especially among young people. The purpose of this project is to examine whether lottery and scratchcard participation is related to gambling problems among 16-24 year olds in Great Britain and whether general and mental health and gambling behaviours explain this relationship. Methodology: Samples of 16-24 year olds were pooled from the 2012, 2015, and 2016 Gambling in England and Scotland: Combined Data from the Health Survey for England and the Scottish Health Survey (n=3,454). Bivariate analyses and Firth method logistic regression were used to examine the relationship between past-year lottery and scratchcard participation and gambling problems, assessing the attenuating role of mental wellbeing, mental health disorders, self-assessed general health, and playing other games in past year. Results: There is a significant association between scratchcard play and gambling problems. The association somewhat attenuated but remained significant after taking into account wellbeing, mental health disorders, general health, and engagement in other gambling activities. Findings also show that gambling problems are further predicted by age (20-24 years), gender (male), lower wellbeing, and playing any other gambling games. Implications: Results are valuable for informing youth-focused education, decisions around the legal age for National Lottery products, and the development of safer gambling initiatives for high risk groups and behaviours, such as scratchcard play.

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Rationale: A key factor in our understanding of problem gambling is control: over gambling outcomes (illusion of control) and behaviours (gambling self-efficacy). Research in the gambling field rarely looks beyond these gambling-specific types of control to more general types when identifying predictors of gambling problems. This work begins to integrate control concepts from the mental health and problem gambling fields by examining the importance of a more general type of control from the Stress Process Model: sense of control over life events. Methods: Closed-ended questionnaire and open-ended interview responses from 30 frequent (weekly or more) gamblers were used to examine whether general and gambling-specific types of control are linked as predicted in a conceptual model of control. Results: For some people, beliefs about one type of control are extended to inform beliefs about another type of control. In many cases, understandings of outcomes in life inform beliefs about controlling gambling outcomes and behaviours. Conclusions: Different types of control work together, and general understandings can translate into gambling-specific beliefs. Future work is needed to confirm and specify these relationships and clarify their importance to understanding the development of gambling problems.