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

Wardle, H. and Tipping, S. (2023) The relationship between problematic gambling severity and engagement with gambling products: longitudinal analysis of the Emerging Adults Gambling Survey. Addiction, 118(6), pp. 1127-1139. (doi: 10.1111/add.16125) (PMID:36606732) (PMCID:PMC7614752)

Abstract

Background/Aims: To measure the association between problem gambling severity and nineteen different gambling activities among emerging adults (aged 16-26). Design: An online non-probability longitudinal survey collecting data in two waves: wave 1, July/August 2019; wave 2, July/September 2020. Setting: Great Britain Participants: 2080 emerging adults participating in both waves. Measurements: Problem gambling scores were collected using the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI). Binary variables recorded past year participation in nineteen different gambling forms, ranging from lotteries to online casino and gambling-like practices within digital games (e.g., loot box purchase, skin betting). Controls included socio-demographic/economic characteristics, the Eysenck Impulsivity Scale and the number of gambling activities undertaken. Findings: Zero inflated negative binomial model lacked evidence of an effect between past year participation in any individual activities and subsequent PGSI scores. However, negative binomial random effects models for current gamblers (n=497) showed that skin betting (Incidence-Rate Ratio [IRR] 2.32; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.69-3.19), Fixed Odd Betting Terminals (IRR: 2.21, 95% CI: 1.61-3.05), slot/fruit machines (IRR: 1.43, 95% CI: 1.07-1.91), online betting on horse/dog races (IRR: 1.53, 95% CI: 1.17-2.00) and online betting on non-sports events (IRR: 1.44, 95% CI: 1.11-1.89) were associated with increased PGSI scores. Online casino gambling had a significant interaction by wave: the impact of online casino betting in wave 2 on PGSI scores increased by a factor of 1.61. Conclusions: Past year participation of emerging adults (aged 16-26) in certain forms of gambling does not appear to be associated with future Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) scores. Among emerging adults who are current gamblers, past year participation in certain land-based (e.g. electronic gambling machines) and online forms (e.g. skin betting) of gambling appears to be strongly associated with elevated PGSI scores.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Wardle, Professor Heather
• Authors: Wardle, H., and Tipping, S.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Sociology Anthropology and Applied Social Sciences
• Journal Name: Addiction
• Publisher: Wiley
• ISSN: 0965-2140
• ISSN (Online): 1360-0443
• Published Online: 06 January 2023
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2023 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Addiction 118(6):1127-1139
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons license

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
314613		Technological changes and the health and wellbeing of youth: A case study of gambline	Heather Wardle	Wellcome Trust (WELLCOTR)	200306/A/15/Z	S&PS - Sociology