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Cross-national comparisons of the prevalence of gambling, problem gambling in young people and the role of accessibility in higher risk gambling: A study of Australia, Canada, Croatia and Israel

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Abstract

Countries with public policies that support gambling through gambling legislation foster an environment in which gambling is socially accepted, tacitly encouraged and actively promoted. Although gambling worldwide has features in common, countries differ in terms of the nature of their gambling markets. The current study examined the role of perceived gambling accessibility in gambling behaviors and problem gambling in four different countries: Australia, Canada, Croatia and Israel. A convenience sample comprised 1787 university students aged 18–30. Gambling behaviors and problems were found to be more prevalent and gambling was perceived to be more accessible in liberalized markets (e.g. Australia, Canada and Croatia) as compared to Israel which is relatively more conservative and has more restrictive regulations. Social accessibility was perceived to be higher in those who gambled and associated with higher risk gambling, especially for women. The study highlights the potentially important role of social normalization of gambling and how supply variations can influence perceptions as well as impact gambling behavior.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Notes

  1. Note that we include measures of religious engagement and identification in this study which are reported in another paper. The effects for religion were generally small and do not explain or confound the gender and accessibility measure effects reported in this paper.

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Author’s Contribution Statements

Belle Gavriel-Fried- Was the one of the principal architects of the project, was in charge of the study design, and was the principal coordinator of the project. She collected the Israeli data., and wrote the manuscript.

Paul Delfabbro- Coordinated the Australian leg of the project. He conducted the statistical analysis, wrote the “Results” section, and drafted the manuscript.

Neven Ricijas - Was one of the principal architects of the project, contributed to the development of the survey, and conducted preliminary analyses. Dora Dodig Hundric - Was one of the principal architects of the project , compiled the measures, and coordinated the Croatian leg of the project.

Professor Derevensky- Co-ordinated the Canadian leg of the project, contributed to the preparation of the manuscript.

All the authors reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Bob Shapell School of Social Work, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Belle Gavriel-Fried

  2. University of Adelaide, School of Psychology, 5005, Adelaide, Australia

    Paul Delfabbro

  3. University of Zagreb, Faculty of of Education and Rehabilitation, Zagreb, Croatia

    Neven Ricijas & Dora Dodig Hundric

  4. McGill University, Department of Psychiatry, Montreal, Canada

    Jeffrey L. Derevensky

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  1. Belle Gavriel-Fried
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Belle Gavriel-Fried.

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Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of four institutional review boards of Tel Aviv, Adelaide, Zagreb and McGill universities.

Conflict of Interest

Belle Gavriel-Fried has received a seed grant from the International Center for Responsible Gamin in 2017 for exploration of recovery capital in gambling disorder. She has received a grant from the ministry of science (Israel) for a study about the success of Israeli Arab students in higher education in Israel in 2017. She has never received direct gambling industry funding for any research.

Paul Delfabbro has received funding for research, support for conference travel and speaking engagements from government and non-government research bodies such as AGRI, VRGF, IAGR and the Department of Consumer Affairs, GambleAware/ RGT, Gambling Research Australia, Independent Gambling Authority, the ARC, NHMRC, Channel 7 Children’s Foundation and Australian Institute of Criminology. He has conducted paid consultancy work on responsible gambling for regulatory bodies, government, peak bodies such as the Australasian Gambling Commission and reviews of responsible gambling programs for some industry groups (e.g., reviews of list of indicators, self-exclusion program, host responsibility quality in relation to international best practice), but not received direct industry funding for any research. He acknowledges that many peak research bodies are indirectly funded by industry through levies or contributions.

Neven Ricijaš has received funds for most of my research from the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Special Education and Rehabilitation Sciences, other governmental institutions (e.g. Ministry of Science, Education and Sport, Ministry of Justice, Croatian Institute of Public Health), and non-governmental institutions (e.g. UNICEF Office for Croatia). Some of the research focused on exploring gambling among different Croatian populations was co-funded and supported by the Croatian Lottery. He has conducted paid consultative work or training for the gambling industry (e.g. Croatian Lottery, Croatian Association for the Games of Chance) in the field of promoting responsible gambling principles and strategies.

Dora Dodig Hundric has received most of the funding for my research and support for conference travel from University of Zagreb (Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences). She has also participated in research and projects funded by other governmental institutions such as relevant ministries, NGOs, Croatian Lottery and Croatian Association for the Games of Chance.

Dr. Derevensky Jeff holds or has held several recent research grants from the NCAA, Manitoba Gambling Foundation, Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling, U.S. National Council on Problem Gambling, and Social Sciences and Humanities Council in Canada.

He has provided consultations to the Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman International Conference on Child Health, Development and Welfare, Jerusalem; National Science Foundation (U.S.); By Kids for Kids; Marsden Fund Council; New Zealand Government; National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Sports Wagering Task Force; Gamble Aware, UK; International Olympic Committee, Mental Health Task Force; The Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO), Belgium; National Council on Problem Gambling (U.S.); Fonds National de la Recherche, Luxembourg; International Research Institute for Gambling and Gaming, Germany; University of Newcastle; Gambling Commission, U.K.; Government of Hong Kong; Australian Research Council; University of British Columbia Gambling Research Center; Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care; National Association for State and Provincial Lotteries.

Dr. Derevensky has received honoraria for speaking at conferences and workshops organized by the University of North Carolina; Morneau Shepell; Canadian Paediatric Society; New Jersey Council on Problem Gambling; Champlain College; Montreal Junior Chamber of Commerce; Massachusetts Council on Problem Gambling; Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling; Kentucky Council on Problem Gambling.

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Gavriel-Fried, B., Delfabbro, P., Ricijas, N. et al. Cross-national comparisons of the prevalence of gambling, problem gambling in young people and the role of accessibility in higher risk gambling: A study of Australia, Canada, Croatia and Israel. Curr Psychol 42, 6990–7001 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02017-7

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