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. 2022 May 12;22(1):956.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-13201-0.

Young people in Australia discuss strategies for preventing the normalisation of gambling and reducing gambling harm

Hannah Pitt  1 , Samantha L Thomas  2 , Melanie Randle  3 , Sean Cowlishaw  4 , Grace Arnot  5 , Sylvia Kairouz  6 , Mike Daube  7
Affiliations

Young people in Australia discuss strategies for preventing the normalisation of gambling and reducing gambling harm

Hannah Pitt et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: The normalisation of gambling for young people has received considerable recent attention in the public health literature, particularly given the proliferation of gambling marketing aligned with sport. A range of studies and reports into the health and wellbeing of young people have recommended that they should be consulted and engaged in developing public health policy and prevention strategies. There are, however, very few opportunities for young people to have a say about gambling issues, with little consideration of their voices in public health recommendations related to gambling. This study aimed to address this gap by documenting young people's perceptions about strategies that could be used to counter the normalisation of gambling and prevent gambling related harm.

Methods: This study took a critical qualitative inquiry approach, which acknowledges the role of power and social injustice in health issues. Qualitative interviews, using a constructivist approach, were conducted with 54 young people (11-17 years) in Australia. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to interpret the data.

Results: Five overall strategies were constructed from the data. 1) Reducing the accessibility and availability of gambling products; 2) Changing gambling infrastructure to help reduce the risks associated with gambling engagement; 3) Untangling the relationship between gambling and sport; 4) Restrictions on advertising; and 5) Counter-framing in commercial messages about gambling.

Conclusions: This study demonstrates that young people have important insights and provide recommendations for addressing factors that may contribute to the normalisation of gambling, including strategies to prevent gambling related harm. Young people hold similar views to public health experts about strategies aimed at de-normalising gambling in their local communities and have strong opinions about the need for gambling to be removed from sport.

Keywords: Children; Gambling; Gambling harm; Normalisation; Prevention; Young people.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no competing interest but have a range of declarations.

HP: Has received funding for gambling research from the Australian Research Council Discovery Grant Scheme, the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, and the New South Wales Office of Responsible Gambling.

ST: Has received funding for gambling research from the Australian Research Council Discovery Grant Scheme, the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, and the New South Wales Office of Responsible Gambling. She has received travel expenses for gambling speaking engagements from the European Union, Beat the Odds Wales, the Office of Gaming and Racing ACT, SNSUS (Stiftelsen Nordiska Sällskapet för Upplysning om Spelberoende) and the Royal College of Psychiatry Wales. She is a member of the Responsible Gambling Advisory Board for LotteryWest. She does not receive any financial compensation for this role.

MR: Has received funding for gambling research from the Australian Research Council Discovery Grant Scheme, and the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation.

SC: Has received funding for gambling research from the Australian Research Council Discovery Grant Scheme and the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation in Australia, as well as from the Gambling Research Exchange Ontario (Canada) and the NIHR School for Primary Care Research (UK).

GA: Has no competing financial interests to declare.

SK: Has no competing financial interests to declare. She holds a Research Chair on Gambling funded by the Fonds de Recherche du Québec – Société et Culture (FRQ-SC) and the Mise-sur-toi foundation. She received funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the John Evans Leadership fund of the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

MD: Has received funding for gambling research from the Australian Research Council Discovery Grant Scheme and the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation Grants Scheme.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Strategies recommended by young people to address the normalisation of gambling and gambling harm
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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