Lancet report stresses impact of gambling, calls urgent action

A new 45-page report by the Lancet Public Health Commission has found out that gambling poses a growing concern to public health globally with as many as 450m people thought to experience at least one symptom of problem gambling, or to have experienced a negative personal, social or health issue because of gambling.

Lancet raises alarm over the spread of commercial gambling

The report, which seeks to alarm regulators and lawmakers globally about the dangers of commercial gambling, has similarly found out that 80m people are suffering from gambling disorder, and are unable to stop themselves despite the negative impact this habit has on their personal lives.

However, even these numbers ought to be taken with a grain of salt, argue the authors of the report, including Prof Heather Wardle, the Co-Chair of the Commission. According to the Lancet Public Health Commission, these numbers are easily conservative.

Yet, the growing health risks that gambling poses to the public are well-established, with Prof Wardle going further, and adding:

"Most people think of a traditional Las Vegas casino or buying a lottery ticket when they think of gambling. They don’t think of large technology companies deploying a variety of techniques to get more people to engage more frequently with a commodity that can pose substantial health risks, but this is the reality of gambling today."

The Commission has particularly taken issue with the fact that gambling has become omnipresent, with people able to gamble 24 hours a day thanks to smartphones and the fact that every facet of the experience has been brought online – from casinos to sports betting.

She cautions that unless regulators and lawmakers globally respond to this health emergency, problem gambling and gambling-related harms are likely to become increasingly embedded in people’s lives, costing economies and ruining families.

To give perspective on the exact number of issues faced by consumers, the Commission broke down what it estimated were the prevalent numbers of addicts among specific groups. Slots and online casinos were the more addictive types of products compared to sports betting.

An estimated 15.8% of adults and 26.4% of adolescents who tried online casinos actually developed a gambling disorder. This tracked at 8.9% for adults and 16.3% for adolescents who used sports betting products.

This estimate is important as it not only highlights how addictive certain aspects of the gambling experience can be, but it also vindicates jurisdictions such as the Netherlands and Italy which have been adamant about protecting younger consumers as they tend to be more susceptible to gambling influences.

Global leadership is needed to address the growing risk of problem gambling

It would come down to global leadership, however, to fully address the issue of commercial gambling proliferation – especially among those most at risk – as a global public health issue, the Commission noted.

This though may actually take a lot longer, and presently – the onus still falls on individual jurisdictions. Australia launched and is currently reviewing its first national self-exclusion program, BetStop, the United States is cracking down on offshore gambling websites, and the United Kingdom is planning a higher gambling levy on gambling companies.

Yet, international and coordinated action is not completely out of the question. Previously this month, the American Gaming Association, the Betting and Gaming Council and the European Casino Association came together to form an alliance.

Interpol has led an operation that led to the global arrest of 5,100 people across 28 countries, showing that international collaboration on high-stakes issues is not only possible – it has been done. Sustaining this effort is much harder.

Image credit: Unsplash.com