Campaign for Fairer Gambling study says gambling expansion causes further harm

The Campaign for Fairer Gambling has published and shared a new study in which it analyzed how expanding gambling laws to make the industry more accessible could actually fuel harm and have an inadvertent impact on player well-being.

Gambling harm – a matter of volume, not vulnerability says study

The CFG, which is an independent gambling reform organization that is familiar with both the US and UK regulatory frameworks and business practices, has shared the findings of its research "The total consumption model applied to gambling," in which it analyzed data collected from 40,000 gamblers.

The data was collated from Norsk Tipping, the Norwegian gambling monopolist, and it covers 14 different population groups to get a better understanding of these trends. The full study can be read here.

According to the CFG, it is not just a matter of what individuals are vulnerable, as is commonly understood. It’s also a matter of volume. The organization argues that the prevalence and volume of gambling activity in a society could also to an extent predetermine how many people would experience gambling-related harm.

The study acknowledges that universal prevention strategies are at the very crux of addressing gambling harm across populations, and that any efforts in that direction ought to be focused on improving systemic behaviors and societal trends rather than focusing on individual stories.

The CFG and Founder & Funder Derek Webb has argued that some of the arguments put forward by legislators seem to not be grounded in objectivity.

Responsible play does not necessarily reduce gambling-related harm

The CFG and Webb give an example with the United States, where most jurisdictions subscribe to a "responsible play" regulation of the gambling industry, or in other words believe that gambling harm only applies to a small number of vulnerable players.

The organization believes that there is no credible evidence to bear out this claim. The approach itself has not really contributed to the reduction of gambling-related harm in the United States.

"For years, we’ve warned in the U.K. and Europe that expanding gambling leads to expanding gambling harm. In the US, the situation is even more dire, as the existing illegal offshore online gambling market remains significant. State-by-state legalization of online gambling has done little to curb this illegal market or mitigate harm. Federal intervention is the only way to address this escalating issue," Webb said, commenting on the results.

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