Overserving and Allowed Entry of Obviously Alcohol‐Intoxicated Spectators at Sporting Events

Abstract

Overserving and allowed entry of obviously alcohol-intoxicated spectators are problematic at sporting events in Sweden and may contribute to high overall intoxication levels among spectators. The differences in server intervention rates indicate that serving staff at licensed premises inside the arenas and entrance staff are not likely to have been trained in responsible beverage service. This result underscores the need for server training among staff at the arenas.

Compliance to the Alcohol Law: Overserving to Obviously Intoxicated Visitors at Music Festivals

“…In the present study, the likelihood of being served did not differ between the two actors. Nor did server's gender or age affect the likelihood of being served, similar to previous studies [14][15][16]20]. The only factor that emerged as influencing overserving was the time when the purchase attempt was conducted.…”

“…In the current study, the rate of overserving (26.9%) was similar to those measured at bars in Stockholm [16,20] but significantly lower than those observed at licensed premises in other countries (82-86%) [14,15,18] and at sports stadiums (74-75%) [20,21]. These differences could be due to potential methodological or circumstantial differences across these studies.…”

“…Decreasing the level of overserving is a means to decrease intoxication levels. To test the level of overserving, previous studies have used professional actors, i.e., pseudo-patrons, portraying a standardized scene of obvious intoxication while attempting to purchase alcohol at licensed premises [14][15][16][17][18][19], sports stadiums [20,21], or community festivals [22]. For example, in a study conducted in Sweden, overserving was observed in 95% of the attempts [16].…”

Underage alcohol sales in community sporting clubs

“…The feasibility of the current protocol as well as similar (e.g. ‘pseudo‐intoxicated’) protocols provides direction for increasing and broadening enforcement of licencing legislation by regulatory bodies. The findings also indicate the need for multi‐component, community‐based interventions that include community mobilisation, policy work, media advocacy as well as additional RSA education and training to promote more responsible alcohol cultures and ultimately a safer community sports environment.…”

Media and Education Effect on Impaired Driving Associated With Alcohol Service

“…Nederhoff et al (2016) stated that overservice occurs when servers or clerks provide alcohol to a customer beyond the point of impairment. In some instances, overservice happens if alcohol is sold to a visibly impaired customer even if impairment happened elsewhere (Elga´n, Durbeej, Holder, & Gripenberg, 2018;Naimi, Nelson, & Brewer, 2009;Thombs et al, 2008). The danger for an impaired driving crash increases if the overserved patron drives away from the establishment.…”