Protocol for a Mixed-Method Investigation of the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Gambling Practices, Experiences and Marketing in the UK: The “Betting and Gaming COVID-19 Impact Study”

Kate Hunt, Nathan Critchlow, Ashley Brown, Christopher Bunn, Fiona Dobbie, Craig Donnachie, Cindy M. Gray, Richard Purves, Gerda Reith, Martine Stead, Danielle Mitchell and Heather Wardle
Additional contact information
Kate Hunt: Institute for Social Marketing and Health, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK
Nathan Critchlow: Institute for Social Marketing and Health, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK
Ashley Brown: Institute for Social Marketing and Health, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK
Christopher Bunn: School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
Fiona Dobbie: Usher Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9YL, UK
Craig Donnachie: School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
Cindy M. Gray: School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
Richard Purves: Institute for Social Marketing and Health, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK
Gerda Reith: School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
Martine Stead: Institute for Social Marketing and Health, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK
Danielle Mitchell: Institute for Social Marketing and Health, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK
Heather Wardle: School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 22, 1-11

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic led to unprecedented restrictions on people’s movements and interactions, as well as the cancellation of major sports events and social activities, directly altering the gambling landscape. There is urgent need to provide regulators, policy makers and treatment providers with evidence on the patterns and context of gambling during COVID-19 and its aftermath. This protocol describes a study addressing the following three questions: (1) How has COVID-19 changed gambling practices and the risk factors for, and experience of, gambling harms? (2) What is the effect of COVID-19 on gambling marketing? (3) How has COVID-19 changed high risk groups’ gambling experiences and practices? This mixed-method study focuses on two groups, namely young adults and sports bettors. In workpackage-1, we will extend an existing longitudinal survey of gambling in young adults (aged 16–24 years) (first wave conducted June–August 2019), adding COVID-19-related questions to the second wave (July–August 2020) and extending to a third wave in 2021; and undertake a survey of sports bettors in the UK (baseline n = 4000, ~July–August 2020), with follow-ups in ~October–November 2020 and ~February-March 2021. In workpackage-2, we will examine changes in expenditure on paid-for gambling advertising from January 2019 to July 2021 and undertake a mixed-method content analysis of a random sample of paid-for gambling advertising ( n ~ 200) and social media marketing ( n ~ 100) during the initial COVID-19 “lockdown”. Workpackage-3 will involve qualitative interviews with a purposive sample of (a) young adults (aged 18–24 years) and (b) sports bettors.

Keywords: COVID-19; gambling; young adults; commercial determinants of health; sports bettors (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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