| 1. |
- Bickl, Andreas M., et al.
(författare)
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Changes in gambling behaviour and related problems in clients seeking help in outpatient addiction care : Results from a 36-month follow-up study in Bavaria
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Behavioral Addictions. - : Akademiai Kiado Zrt.. - 2062-5871 .- 2063-5303. ; 10:3, s. 690-700
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background and aim: Evidence on the course of gambling disorder (GD) in clients seeking help from outpatient addiction care facilities is sparse. To close this knowledge gap, this longitudinal one-armed cohort study portrays the development of GD in help-seeking clients over a 3-year timeframe.Methods: We investigated changes in severity of GD as well as in gambling frequency and intensity in 145 gamblers in outpatient treatment in Bavaria using generalized estimation equations (GEEs). To investigate potentially different trajectories between study participants with and without migration background (MB), additional analyses were applied with time*migration interaction. All analyses were adjusted for age, gender, education, electronic gambling machine (EGM) gambling, MB, GD, related help sought before and treatment status.Results: Within the entire study population, improvements in severity of GD (reduction of 39.2%), gambling intensity (reduction of 75.6%) and gambling frequency (reduction of 77.0%) were observed between baseline and 36 months of follow-up. The declines were most pronounced between baseline and follow-up 1 and stabilized thereafter. Participants with MB improved consistently less than participants without MB.Discussion and conclusion: Our study suggests that severity of GD and gambling patterns improve in the context of outpatient treatment. The beneficial results furthermore persist for 36 months after treatment termination. As clients with MB seem to profit less than clients without MB, improvements in outpatient gambling services to the specific needs of this clientele are required.
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| 2. |
- Binde, Per, 1956, et al.
(författare)
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Criminogenic problem gambling: A study of verdicts by Swedish courts
- 2021
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Ingår i: International Gambling Studies. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1445-9795 .- 1479-4276. ; 22:3, s. 344-364
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study explored the characteristics and consequences of criminogenic problem gambling in Sweden. All verdicts (N = 283,884) delivered by Swedish general courts between 2014 and 2018 were subjected to a key word search for the term ‘problem gambling’ and its synonyms. Verdicts that met the search criterion (n = 1,232) were inspected manually and cases in which problem gambling clearly was the main cause for committing crime (n = 282) were analyzed quantitatively. The most common types of crimes were fraud and embezzlement (67%). Each year around 400 individuals, companies, and organizations became victims of gambling-driven crimes, with nonprofit organizations being the most severely affected. Those convicted for such crimes were older, and to a greater extent female and first-time offenders, compared to national statistics on crimes in general. This suggests that in Sweden, middle-aged women are a high-risk group for severe gambling problems that should be monitored particularly closely by gambling companies for indications of problematic gambling. We conclude that although crimes driven by problem gambling are relatively rare in the justice system, they bring considerable harm to victims and the perpetrators themselves.
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| 3. |
- Binde, Per, et al.
(författare)
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Violating trust : a study of court verdicts in cases of gambling-driven economic crimes in the workplace
- 2022
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Ingår i: Nordic Journal of Criminology. - 2578-983X .- 2578-9821. ; 23:2, s. 212-230
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study investigated trust-violating economic crimes committed in businesses and at public and non-profit organizations by employees with problem gambling. Verdicts delivered by the Swedish general courts over a five-year period (N = 283,884) were subject to a keyword search, and verdicts matching the search criteria (n = 1,232) were examined in detail, identifying 62 such cases. A notable finding was that middle-aged women with no previous criminal record were overrepresented compared with women in national statistics on crimes in general. Non-profit organizations and public services were relatively ineffective in detecting gambling-driven trust-violating crimes. The implications of our findings for criminological theory are discussed; the results lend support to Donald Cressey’s theory of trust-violating crime as driven by a non-shareable problem and agree with the ‘fraud triangle’ conceptualization. We conclude that although these gambling-driven crimes are relatively rare, the risk of them occurring should not be ignored by businesses and organizations as the consequences can be severe and, for small businesses, sometimes devastating.
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| 4. |
- González Díaz, Katya, 1986-, et al.
(författare)
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Balancing conflicting interests : stakeholders’ interpretations of ‘moderation’ in Swedish gambling advertising legislation
- 2024
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Ingår i: International Gambling Studies. - : Routledge. - 1445-9795 .- 1479-4276.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- On January 1st, 2019, a license-based system allowing online commercial companies to operate and advertise in the Swedish market was introduced. According to the Gambling Act, advertising should be ‘moderate’. Legislative changes are windows of opportunities where stakeholder interpretation and adaption may result in new agenda-setting based on conflicting interests. This article examines how stakeholder groups initially perceived and interpreted this key concept of moderation. Data from semi-structured interviews, seminars and press conferences, as well as policy documents and statements, were analyzed using a framework method approach. Contrary to what is stated in the legislation, stakeholders defined ‘moderation’ in terms of both content and volume. Although industry and media representatives requested further guidance for interpreting ‘moderation’, they favored self-regulation and allowing market consolidation. There was a notable ambivalence within and between stakeholder groups concerning balancing freedom of expression, market protection, consumer protection and public health. In conclusion, legislation is a blunt steering instrument when key concepts are largely left to stakeholders, with opposing interests, to interpret. Our study shows the incremental and interactive character of policy-making, where new legislation resulted in new policy responses. Case law and market consolidation take time and regulatory interventions need to take this into account.
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| 5. |
- Kraus, Ludwig, 1955-, et al.
(författare)
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Self-exclusion from gambling : A toothless tiger?
- 2022
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Psychiatry. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-0640. ; 13
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- While there is evidence for self-exclusion (SE) as an individual-level harm reduction intervention, its effects on reducing harm from gambling at the population level remain unclear. Based on a review of national legal frameworks and SE programs, including their utilization and enforcement in selected high-income societies, the present analysis aims to explore the reach and strengths of SE in the protection of gamblers in these jurisdictions. It places particular emphasis on SE programs' potential to prevent and minimize gambling harm at the population level. The overview examined SE in Finland, Germany, Italy, Massachusetts (USA), Norway, Sweden, and Victoria (Australia). These jurisdictions differ considerably in how gambling is regulated as well as in how SE is implemented and enforced. The reach and extent of enforcement of SE apparently vary with the polity's general policy balance between reducing gambling problems and increasing gambling revenue. But in any case, though SE may benefit individual gamblers and those around them, it does not appear to be capable of significantly reducing gambling harm at the population level. To render SE programs an effective measure that prevents gamblers and those linked to them from financial, social, and psychological harm, utilization needs to be substantially increased by reforming legal regulations and exclusion conditions.
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| 6. |
- Kraus, Ludwig, 1955-, et al.
(författare)
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'We are not the ones to blame'. Gamblers' and providers' appraisal of self-exclusion in Germany
- 2023
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Ingår i: BMC Public Health. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2458. ; 23:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Given low utilization by individuals experiencing gambling problems the potential of self-exclusion (SE) might be not fully exploited in Germany. This paper aims to gain insight into different actors’ perceptions and reflections on the problems and difficulties in the process of self-exclusion to delineate which specific attitudes hamper a successful implementation of SE.Methods 13 individual and four group interviews with individuals experiencing gambling problems and governmental or commercial gambling providers were examined. A Grounded Theory Approach was used to portray the opinions of these different actors on existing regulations of SE and to delineate potentially diverging interests between the distinct groups.Results The interviewees agreed on the usefulness of SE and consented that it is important to early recognize individuals experiencing gambling problems. They also considered the present practice insufficient but for different reasons. Individuals experiencing gambling problems and providers particularly disagreed on addressing individuals experiencing gambling problems. While individuals experiencing gambling problems stated that they had hardly ever been approached, providers argued that help offers were mostly rejected. Especially commercial providers also regarded insufficient German language skills and rapid fluctuation of guests as strong barriers to approaching individuals experiencing gambling problems. Interviewees from governmental venues furthermore suspected that commercial providers took addressing individuals experiencing gambling problems less seriously.Conclusion Our results emphasize the dilemma of conflicting interests in both individuals experiencing gambling problems and providers. Rather than acting against the economic interests of employers, venue staff blame individuals experiencing gambling problems for lack of problem recognition. Conversely, individuals experiencing gambling problems blame the providers for not offering help. To address individuals experiencing gambling problems appropriate staff training is required, and SE regulations need to be controlled by an independent body rather than by the providers themselves.
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| 7. |
- Room, Robin, et al.
(författare)
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A Framework Convention on Alcohol Control : Getting Concrete about Its Contents
- 2021
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Ingår i: European Journal of Risk Regulation. - : Cambridge University Press (CUP). - 1867-299X .- 2190-8249. ; 12:2, s. 433-443
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article proposes and discusses the text of a Framework Convention on Alcohol Control, which would serve public health and welfare interests. The history of alcohol's omission from current drug treaties is briefly discussed. The paper spells out what should be covered in the treaty, using text adapted primarily from the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, but for the control of trade from the 1961 narcotic drugs treaty. While the draft provides for the treaty to be negotiated under the auspices of the World Health Organization, other auspices are possible. Excluding alcohol industry interests from the negotiation of the treaty is noted as an important precondition. The articles in the draft treaty and their purposes are briefly described, and the divergences from the tobacco treaty are described and justified. The text of the draft treaty is provided as Supplementary Material. Specification of concrete provisions in a draft convention points the way towards more effective global actions and agreements on alcohol control, whatever form they take.
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| 8. |
- Samuelsson, Eva, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
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Sense or sensibility—Ideological dilemmas in gamblers' notions of responsibilities for gambling problems
- 2022
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Psychiatry. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-0640. ; 13
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The gambling market is a complex field of conflicting stakeholders and interests involving dimensions, such as economy, health, social inequality and morals. The division of responsibility between gamblers, the gambling industry and the regulating state for limiting the harmful effects of this activity, however, are unclear. The aim of this study was to explore how gamblers in the Swedish market attribute responsibility to various actors within the gambling field. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 37 gamblers experiencing extensive gambling problems. Based on a discourse analytical approach, five ideological dilemmas were identified, highlighting the tension between the, often contradictory, values that the participants need to relate to. On the individual level, the gamblers emphasize their own responsibility for their problem, thereby showing accountability in relation to themselves, their significant others and their peers as agents in recovery. On the corporate- and state levels however, the participants argue for a stronger public health approach, where the gambling companies should take further responsibility by living up to the legal regulations and where the state should ensure compliance and safeguard funding for treatment and research. The essential paradox between the individual responsibility discourse of self-regulation and the prevailing medical discourse of the gambler's incapacity for self-control signifies an impossible equation that imposes feelings of guilt and shame upon an individual who is concurrently considered as both responsible and incapable. In order to reduce harm, the gambling industry must be more proactive with coercive external control measures to fulfill the duty of care they claim to adhere to, and the regulating state must ensure its compliance.
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| 9. |
- Sulkunen, Pekka, et al.
(författare)
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Setting Limits : Gambling, Science and Public Policy—summary of results
- 2021
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Ingår i: Addiction. - : Wiley. - 0965-2140 .- 1360-0443. ; 116:1, s. 32-40
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The gambling industry has grown into a global business in the 21st century. This has created the need for a new emphasis on problem prevention. This article highlights the core themes of the book Setting Limits: Gambling, Science and Public Policy, taking a broad view of the consequences of gambling for society as a burden on health, well-being and equality. The book covers the extent of gambling and gambling-related problems in different societies and presents a critical review of research on industry practices, policy objectives and preventive approaches, including services to people suffering from gambling and its consequences. It discusses the developments in game characteristics and gambling environments and provides evidence on how regulation can affect those. Effective measures to minimize gambling harm exist and many are well supported by scientific evidence. They include restrictions on general availability as well as selective measures to prevent gamblers from overspending. The revenue generated from gambling for the industry, governments, and providers of public services funded from gambling returns presents an obstacle to developing policies to implement harm-reduction measures. A public interest approach must weigh these interests against the suffering and losses of the victims of gambling.
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