Volume 5, numéro 1, 2024 Critical Directions in Early-Career Gambling Studies Sous la direction de Annie-Claude Savard, Katie Palmer du Preez et Eva Monson

EN :

The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate the strategies used by the gambling industry to influence the reforming of the state online monopoly into a licensing system in Sweden in 2019, and to weaken state online monopoly in Finland. Methodologically, this study used primary data from 9 expert interviews in both countries and secondary data from prior literature, which were analyzed using thematic content analysis. The results identified five main political strategies used by the gambling industry: (1) Information, through lobbying politicians; (2) Constituency Building, through forming an alliance with interest groups; (3) Policy Substitution, through promoting alternative policies and self-regulation; (4) Legal Infringements; and (5) Regulatory Redundancy. The study concluded that the involvement of the gambling industry in policy-making influenced the change of the state online monopoly into a licensing system in Sweden in 2019 and is weakening the state online monopoly in Finland.

EN :

Given that little is currently known about gambling in the workplace, we conducted a mixed-methods study to describe the characteristics and experiences of people who gamble at work. We administered a Canada-wide online survey (n = 2,000) of adults who 1) gamble, 2) are currently employed full-time, and 3) have internet access at work. A descriptive analysis of quantitative survey data showed that individuals who gamble at work had lower job satisfaction and higher rates of problem gambling compared to those who do not. Among those who gamble at work, we quantitatively described the types of gambling, the consequences experienced, and the motivations for gambling. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 18 individuals who met the criteria for problem gambling and who gamble at work. Data were integrated to provide a richer description of the experiences of those who gamble at work, including their motivations, the role of work–life satisfaction, and the dynamic influence of work as a social context. Motivations for workplace gambling included excitement, social connection, avoidance, and coping with stress or emotions. The results highlight the importance of understanding the varied motivations of individuals who gamble at work, and the role of work experiences in shaping meaning regarding gambling behaviours.

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People with lived experience have drawn attention to gambling stigma as a harm in itself, justifying discrimination and exacerbating other harms. The gambling establishment’s response has reproduced individual responsibility by reducing stigma to a barrier to help-seeking. More recently, adapting to critiques of individual responsibility, the gambling establishment has expanded the issue to one of services and society. This paper identifies the structural dynamics that drive gambling stigma and discrimination from the perspective of lived experience. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with adults in Great Britain who had experienced gambling harm (n = 40). Several key themes were identified: (1) Harmless fun and individual responsibility; (2) Comparison with substance use; (3) The role of money; (4) Lack of parity in government policy; (5) Stereotypes of “typical” gamblers. The findings show the fundamental driver of stigma is the way commercial gambling functions and is enabled to function by the state, thus perpetuating the very conditions producing stigma in the first place. Stigma-reduction strategies that focus on changing individual behaviour or public information campaigns that tell people to get help early are insufficient: they are just another version of “responsible gambling,” where the individual is expected to do everything. Change requires addressing the unique features of gambling harm, stigma and discrimination, and the position the U.K. government allows commercial gambling to occupy.