Who chooses to enroll in a new national gambling self-exclusion system? A general population survey in Sweden
(2020) In Harm Reduction Journal 17.- Abstract
Background: Self-exclusion from gambling is a common method for prevention and harm reduction in hazardous gambling. However, few national self-exclusion programs, involving a large number of gambling operators and activities in a country, have been assessed scientifically. This study aimed to examine characteristics of individuals who chose to enroll in a recently introduced (January, 2019) national self-exclusion system in Sweden. Methods: Adults and adolescents (from age 16 and above) were addressed with an online survey sent to members of the web panel of a market survey company (1940 respondents). Psychological distress, previous history of addictive disorders, sociodemographic data, and recent history of gambling patterns and... (More)
Background: Self-exclusion from gambling is a common method for prevention and harm reduction in hazardous gambling. However, few national self-exclusion programs, involving a large number of gambling operators and activities in a country, have been assessed scientifically. This study aimed to examine characteristics of individuals who chose to enroll in a recently introduced (January, 2019) national self-exclusion system in Sweden. Methods: Adults and adolescents (from age 16 and above) were addressed with an online survey sent to members of the web panel of a market survey company (1940 respondents). Psychological distress, previous history of addictive disorders, sociodemographic data, and recent history of gambling patterns and over-indebtedness were recorded. Logistic regression tested associations with self-exclusion, with unadjusted analyses conducted for the sub-group of moderate-risk or problem gamblers. Results: Four percent reported having self-excluded using the new national self-exclusion system. In logistic regression, self-exclusion was significantly associated with younger age (OR 0.65 [0.54–0.79] for increasing age groups) and with the highest level of problem gambling (OR 2.84 [1.10–7.37]). In moderate-risk or problem gamblers, in unadjusted analyses, younger age (p < 0.05) and psychological distress (p = 0.02) were associated with self-exclusion. In none- or low-risk gamblers, 3% had self-excluded, which was significantly associated with younger age (p < 0.001) and self-reported over-indebtedness (p < 0.001). Conclusions: In a national, multi-venue online and land-based self-exclusion system, aiming to reduce the harm of problem gambling, self-exclusion is expectedly more common in problem gamblers, but also occurs among people without recent gambling problems. Further efforts may be needed in order to increase gambling self-exclusion in problem gamblers, and research in reasons for self-excluding, even in non-problem gamblers, is needed.
(Less)
- author
- Håkansson, A. LU and Henzel, V.
- organization
- publishing date
- 2020-10-21
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Gambling, Gambling disorder, Gender, Indebtedness, Self-exclusion
- in
- Harm Reduction Journal
- volume
- 17
- article number
- 82
- publisher
- BioMed Central (BMC)
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:33087113
- scopus:85093850145
- ISSN
- 1477-7517
- DOI
- 10.1186/s12954-020-00423-x
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 933d72d0-9413-4fe7-ac44-3fae1c0ea66c
- date added to LUP
- 2020-11-04 01:04:17
- date last changed
- 2024-04-17 17:40:53
@article{933d72d0-9413-4fe7-ac44-3fae1c0ea66c,
abstract = {{<p>Background: Self-exclusion from gambling is a common method for prevention and harm reduction in hazardous gambling. However, few national self-exclusion programs, involving a large number of gambling operators and activities in a country, have been assessed scientifically. This study aimed to examine characteristics of individuals who chose to enroll in a recently introduced (January, 2019) national self-exclusion system in Sweden. Methods: Adults and adolescents (from age 16 and above) were addressed with an online survey sent to members of the web panel of a market survey company (1940 respondents). Psychological distress, previous history of addictive disorders, sociodemographic data, and recent history of gambling patterns and over-indebtedness were recorded. Logistic regression tested associations with self-exclusion, with unadjusted analyses conducted for the sub-group of moderate-risk or problem gamblers. Results: Four percent reported having self-excluded using the new national self-exclusion system. In logistic regression, self-exclusion was significantly associated with younger age (OR 0.65 [0.54–0.79] for increasing age groups) and with the highest level of problem gambling (OR 2.84 [1.10–7.37]). In moderate-risk or problem gamblers, in unadjusted analyses, younger age (p < 0.05) and psychological distress (p = 0.02) were associated with self-exclusion. In none- or low-risk gamblers, 3% had self-excluded, which was significantly associated with younger age (p < 0.001) and self-reported over-indebtedness (p < 0.001). Conclusions: In a national, multi-venue online and land-based self-exclusion system, aiming to reduce the harm of problem gambling, self-exclusion is expectedly more common in problem gamblers, but also occurs among people without recent gambling problems. Further efforts may be needed in order to increase gambling self-exclusion in problem gamblers, and research in reasons for self-excluding, even in non-problem gamblers, is needed.</p>}},
author = {{Håkansson, A. and Henzel, V.}},
issn = {{1477-7517}},
keywords = {{Gambling; Gambling disorder; Gender; Indebtedness; Self-exclusion}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{10}},
publisher = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}},
series = {{Harm Reduction Journal}},
title = {{Who chooses to enroll in a new national gambling self-exclusion system? A general population survey in Sweden}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12954-020-00423-x}},
doi = {{10.1186/s12954-020-00423-x}},
volume = {{17}},
year = {{2020}},
}