Changes in gambling harms show need to consider the relationship between harms and availability

The relationship between problematic gambling severity and engagement with gambling products: Longitudinal analysis of the Emerging Adults Gambling Survey

“…A study of British sports bettors showed that faced with restrictions on sports betting opportunities, approximately a third stopped gambling [30]. Gambling Commission data shows that fewer people gambled during the initial stages of the pandemic and relatedly rates of problematic gambling fell [31]. Therefore, disruptions to gambling supply experienced between wave 1 and wave 2 may have resulted in more young people stopping gambling than usual, which in turn may impact on the associations observed between wave 1 activity participation and PGSI score at wave 2.…”

Changes in severity of problem gambling and subsequent suicide attempts: a longitudinal survey of young adults in Great Britain, 2018–20

“…Indeed, more people in our sample showed a decrease in PGSI score than an increase, although this might be related to restrictions in gambling supply during the COVID-19 pandemic. 27,28 Future research could explore the extent to which a dose-response relationship between changing PGSI scores and suicide attempts might be evident, with greater increases in PGSI scores associated with greater risk of suicide attempts (our study was underpowered to examine this).…”

Opening Pandora’s Loot Box: Weak Links Between Gambling and Loot Box Expenditure in China, and Player Opinions on Probability Disclosures and Pity-Timers

“…Access to and engagement with multiple forms of gambling represent a risk factor for problem gambling in Western countries (Russell et al, 2019 ). The correlation between loot box purchasing and problem gambling may not appear in the PRC because the lower availability of commercial gambling products may reduce gambling participation, and hence the distribution of problem gambling symptomology (Kesaite & Wardle, 2022 ; Rose & Day, 1990 ). Moreover, whilst gambling is associated with perceived social stigma in Western countries (Horch & Hodgins, 2008 ), negative moral attitudes towards gambling might be even more extreme in non-Western countries (Luk & Bond, 1992 ; Zeng & Zhang, 2007 ).…”