Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Dec;5(4):592-613.
doi: 10.1556/2006.5.2016.073. Epub 2016 Oct 27.

Problem gambling worldwide: An update and systematic review of empirical research (2000-2015)

Filipa Calado  1 , Mark D Griffiths  1
Affiliations

Problem gambling worldwide: An update and systematic review of empirical research (2000-2015)

Filipa Calado et al. J Behav Addict. 2016 Dec.

Abstract

Background and aims Problem gambling has been identified as an emergent public health issue, and there is a need to identify gambling trends and to regularly update worldwide gambling prevalence rates. This paper aims to review recent research on adult gambling and problem gambling (since 2000) and then, in the context of a growing liberalization of the gambling market in the European Union, intends to provide a more detailed analysis of adult gambling behavior across European countries. Methods A systematic literature search was carried out using academic databases, Internet, and governmental websites. Results Following this search and utilizing exclusion criteria, 69 studies on adult gambling prevalence were identified. These studies demonstrated that there are wide variations in past-year problem gambling rates across different countries in the world (0.12-5.8%) and in Europe (0.12-3.4%). However, it is difficult to directly compare studies due to different methodological procedures, instruments, cut-offs, and time frames. Despite the variability among instruments, some consistent results with regard to demographics were found. Discussion and conclusion The findings highlight the need for continuous monitoring of problem gambling prevalence rates in order to examine the influence of cultural context on gambling patterns, assess the effectiveness of policies on gambling-related harms, and establish priorities for future research.

Keywords: adult gambling; gambling; pathological gambling; prevalence; problem gambling.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Abbott M. W., Romild U., Volberg R. A. (2014). Gambling and problem gambling in Sweden: Changes between 1998 and 2009. Journal of Gambling Studies, 30, 985–999. doi:10.1007/s10899-013-9396-3 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Abbott M. W., Volberg R. A., Rönnberg S. (2004). Comparing the New Zealand and Swedish national surveys of gambling and problem gambling. Journal of Gambling Studies, 20(3), 237–258. doi:10.1023/B:JOGS.0000040278.08853.c0 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Aho P., Turja T. (2007). Gambling in Finland 2007. Helsinki: Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.
    1. American Psychiatric Association. (1994). DSM-IV: Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
    1. Bakken I. J., Gotestam K. G., Grawe R. W., Wenzel H. G., Øren A. (2009). Gambling behavior and gambling problems in Norway 2007. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 50, 333–339. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9450.2009.00713.x - DOI - PubMed

Publication types