Gambling by young adults in the UK during COVID-19 lockdown

Alan M Emond; Sharon B Collard; Agnes Nairn; Linda I Hollen

doi:10.1007/s10899-021-10029-y

Gambling by young adults in the UK during COVID-19 lockdown

Alan M Emond^*, Sharon B Collard, Agnes Nairn, Linda I Hollen

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

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Abstract

Introduction: Gambling is a common activity amongst young adults in the UK, and was a behavior of interest during the early mitigation against COVID-19 (first lockdown).

Methods: The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) was used to investigate attitudes, moods and behavior during lockdown in England. ALSPAC participants were invited to complete online questionnaires in May 2020, including a set of questions about frequency of gambling and gambling activities which had been asked three years previously. Mental health and wellbeing data and alcohol use were also collected as part of lockdown questionnaires.

Results: Gambling questions were completed by 2632 young adults, 71% female, with a mean age of 27.8 years. Overall, gambling frequency reduced during lockdown for both males and females, but more males engaged in regular (weekly) gambling. Gambling activities became more restricted compared to previous reports, but online gambling (e.g. online poker, bingo, casino games) was more frequent. Previous gambling behaviour predicted gambling frequency during lockdown. No associations were apparent between gambling frequency and measures of mental health and well-being. Heavy alcohol use was strongly linked with regular gambling during lockdown. Gamblers were more than twice as likely as non-gamblers to have experienced financial difficulties pre-COVID, but gambling frequency was not related to employment status during lockdown.

Conclusions: Online gambling increased during lockdown, whilst offline gambling activities decreased in frequency. A small minority of regular weekly gamblers, who tended to be male and heavy users of alcohol, participated in a wide range of online and offline gambling activities.

Original language	English
Number of pages	13
Journal	Journal of Gambling Studies
Volume	(2021)
Early online date	17 May 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-021-10029-y
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 17 May 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The UK Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust (Grant ref: 102215/2/13/2) and the University of Bristol provide core support for the ALSPAC. A comprehensive list of grant funding is available on the ALSPAC website ( www.bris.ac.uk/alspac ). Specific funding for the ALSPAC Gambling Study was supplied by GambleAware (formerly the Responsible Gambling Trust) and the University of Bristol. The collection of data during lockdown using the ALSPAC COVID 19 questionnaires were funded by the Wellcome Trust.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).

Research Groups and Themes

ALSPAC
Covid19
Gambling Harms

Keywords

gambling
lockdown
COVID-19
ALSPAC

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1007/s10899-021-10029-y

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A longitudinal study of problem gambling in late adolescence and early adulthood: follow-up assessment at 25 years
Emond, A. M. (Principal Investigator)
1/04/16 → 30/09/20
Project: Research

Cite this

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title = "Gambling by young adults in the UK during COVID-19 lockdown",

abstract = "Introduction: Gambling is a common activity amongst young adults in the UK, and was a behavior of interest during the early mitigation against COVID-19 (first lockdown).Methods: The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) was used to investigate attitudes, moods and behavior during lockdown in England. ALSPAC participants were invited to complete online questionnaires in May 2020, including a set of questions about frequency of gambling and gambling activities which had been asked three years previously. Mental health and wellbeing data and alcohol use were also collected as part of lockdown questionnaires. Results: Gambling questions were completed by 2632 young adults, 71% female, with a mean age of 27.8 years. Overall, gambling frequency reduced during lockdown for both males and females, but more males engaged in regular (weekly) gambling. Gambling activities became more restricted compared to previous reports, but online gambling (e.g. online poker, bingo, casino games) was more frequent. Previous gambling behaviour predicted gambling frequency during lockdown. No associations were apparent between gambling frequency and measures of mental health and well-being. Heavy alcohol use was strongly linked with regular gambling during lockdown. Gamblers were more than twice as likely as non-gamblers to have experienced financial difficulties pre-COVID, but gambling frequency was not related to employment status during lockdown. Conclusions: Online gambling increased during lockdown, whilst offline gambling activities decreased in frequency. A small minority of regular weekly gamblers, who tended to be male and heavy users of alcohol, participated in a wide range of online and offline gambling activities.",

keywords = "gambling, lockdown, COVID-19, ALSPAC",

author = "Emond, {Alan M} and Collard, {Sharon B} and Agnes Nairn and Hollen, {Linda I}",

note = "Funding Information: The UK Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust (Grant ref: 102215/2/13/2) and the University of Bristol provide core support for the ALSPAC. A comprehensive list of grant funding is available on the ALSPAC website ( www.bris.ac.uk/alspac ). Specific funding for the ALSPAC Gambling Study was supplied by GambleAware (formerly the Responsible Gambling Trust) and the University of Bristol. The collection of data during lockdown using the ALSPAC COVID 19 questionnaires were funded by the Wellcome Trust. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021, The Author(s).",

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month = may,

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doi = "10.1007/s10899-021-10029-y",

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T1 - Gambling by young adults in the UK during COVID-19 lockdown

AU - Emond, Alan M

AU - Collard, Sharon B

AU - Nairn, Agnes

AU - Hollen , Linda I

N1 - Funding Information: The UK Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust (Grant ref: 102215/2/13/2) and the University of Bristol provide core support for the ALSPAC. A comprehensive list of grant funding is available on the ALSPAC website ( www.bris.ac.uk/alspac ). Specific funding for the ALSPAC Gambling Study was supplied by GambleAware (formerly the Responsible Gambling Trust) and the University of Bristol. The collection of data during lockdown using the ALSPAC COVID 19 questionnaires were funded by the Wellcome Trust. Publisher Copyright: © 2021, The Author(s).

PY - 2021/5/17

Y1 - 2021/5/17

N2 - Introduction: Gambling is a common activity amongst young adults in the UK, and was a behavior of interest during the early mitigation against COVID-19 (first lockdown).Methods: The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) was used to investigate attitudes, moods and behavior during lockdown in England. ALSPAC participants were invited to complete online questionnaires in May 2020, including a set of questions about frequency of gambling and gambling activities which had been asked three years previously. Mental health and wellbeing data and alcohol use were also collected as part of lockdown questionnaires. Results: Gambling questions were completed by 2632 young adults, 71% female, with a mean age of 27.8 years. Overall, gambling frequency reduced during lockdown for both males and females, but more males engaged in regular (weekly) gambling. Gambling activities became more restricted compared to previous reports, but online gambling (e.g. online poker, bingo, casino games) was more frequent. Previous gambling behaviour predicted gambling frequency during lockdown. No associations were apparent between gambling frequency and measures of mental health and well-being. Heavy alcohol use was strongly linked with regular gambling during lockdown. Gamblers were more than twice as likely as non-gamblers to have experienced financial difficulties pre-COVID, but gambling frequency was not related to employment status during lockdown. Conclusions: Online gambling increased during lockdown, whilst offline gambling activities decreased in frequency. A small minority of regular weekly gamblers, who tended to be male and heavy users of alcohol, participated in a wide range of online and offline gambling activities.

AB - Introduction: Gambling is a common activity amongst young adults in the UK, and was a behavior of interest during the early mitigation against COVID-19 (first lockdown).Methods: The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) was used to investigate attitudes, moods and behavior during lockdown in England. ALSPAC participants were invited to complete online questionnaires in May 2020, including a set of questions about frequency of gambling and gambling activities which had been asked three years previously. Mental health and wellbeing data and alcohol use were also collected as part of lockdown questionnaires. Results: Gambling questions were completed by 2632 young adults, 71% female, with a mean age of 27.8 years. Overall, gambling frequency reduced during lockdown for both males and females, but more males engaged in regular (weekly) gambling. Gambling activities became more restricted compared to previous reports, but online gambling (e.g. online poker, bingo, casino games) was more frequent. Previous gambling behaviour predicted gambling frequency during lockdown. No associations were apparent between gambling frequency and measures of mental health and well-being. Heavy alcohol use was strongly linked with regular gambling during lockdown. Gamblers were more than twice as likely as non-gamblers to have experienced financial difficulties pre-COVID, but gambling frequency was not related to employment status during lockdown. Conclusions: Online gambling increased during lockdown, whilst offline gambling activities decreased in frequency. A small minority of regular weekly gamblers, who tended to be male and heavy users of alcohol, participated in a wide range of online and offline gambling activities.

KW - gambling

KW - lockdown

KW - COVID-19

KW - ALSPAC

U2 - 10.1007/s10899-021-10029-y

DO - 10.1007/s10899-021-10029-y

M3 - Article (Academic Journal)

C2 - 33997939

SN - 1573-3602

VL - (2021)

JO - Journal of Gambling Studies

JF - Journal of Gambling Studies

ER -

Gambling by young adults in the UK during COVID-19 lockdown

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Research Groups and Themes

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

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A longitudinal study of problem gambling in late adolescence and early adulthood: follow-up assessment at 25 years

Cite this