ArticleJournal of behavioral addictions2021
The impact of COVID-19 lockdown on gambling habit: A cross-sectional study from Italy.
Article in Journal of behavioral addictions, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 37 citations in OpenAlex.
- COVID-19 and resultant restrictions on gambling behaviour.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet during the COVID-19 national lockdowns: a systematic review of observational studies.Acta bio-medica : Atenei Parmensis · 2021Pooled it
- Trends in problematic gambling among school-aged adolescents based on three Spanish nationwide population-based studies (2018-2023): a gender-based analysis of risk and protective factors.Scientific reports · 2025Observational
- Frequency of gambling, mental health, and financial stress among young adults.BMC public health · 2025Article
- A portrait of online gambling: a look at a transformation amid a pandemic.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- Post-COVID gambling habits of adolescents and young adults in Aragon, Spain: a cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Article
- "It would Never have Happened Without the Pandemic": Understanding the Lived Experience of Individuals who Increased Their Online Gambling Participation.Journal of gambling studies · 2025Article
- P.A.V.I.A. Study: Pervasiveness and Associated Factors of Video Slot Machine Use in a Large Sample of Italian Adolescents.Journal of gambling studies · 2024Article
- Availability restrictions and mandatory precommitment in land-based gambling: effects on online substitutes and total consumption in longitudinal sales data.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Emotions and motivations of gambling: A comparison between scratch card, slot-machines, and casino gamblers.Brain and behavior · 2024Article
- COVID-19 pandemic impact on people with diabetes: results from a large representative sample of Italian older adults.Primary care diabetes · 2022Article
- COVID-19 lockdown impact on familial relationships and mental health in a large representative sample of Italian adults.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2022Article
- COVID-19 confinement impact on weight gain and physical activity in the older adult population: Data from the LOST in Lombardia study.Clinical nutrition ESPEN · 2022Article
- Use of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products during the Covid-19 pandemic.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Gambling at the time of COVID-19: Results from interviews in an Italian sample of gamblers.Emerging trends in drugs, addictions, and health · 2022Article
- No Significant Changes in Addictive and Problematic Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Related Lockdowns: A Three-Wave Longitudinal Study.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Loot boxes use, video gaming, and gambling in adolescents: Results from a path analysis before and during COVID-19-pandemic-related lockdown in Italy.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Review
- Changes in sports gambling behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Article
- Isolation and worry in relation to gambling and onset of gambling among psychiatry patients during the COVID-19 pandemic: A mediation study.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsFew preliminary studies have shown an impact of COVID-19 confinement on gambling habits. We aim to evaluate short-term effects of lockdown restrictions on gambling behaviors in Italy.
methodsWithin the project Lost in Italy, a web-based cross-sectional study was conducted on a representative sample of 6,003 Italians aged 18-74 years, enrolled during April 27-May 3 2020, and were asked to report gambling activity before the lockdown and at the time of interview.
resultsThe prevalence of participants reporting any gambling decreased from 16.3% before lockdown to 9.7% during lockdown. Traditional gambling decreased from 9.9 to 2.4% and online gambling from 9.9 to 8.0%. Among gamblers, median time of gambling grew from 4.5 to 5.1 h/month. Among non-players before lockdown, 1.1% started playing. Among players before lockdown, 19.7% increased gambling activity. Multivariate analysis showed an increase in gambling activity in younger generations (p for trend = 0.001), current smokers (odds ratio, OR 1.48), users of electronic cigarettes (OR 1.63), heated tobacco products (OR 1.82), cannabis (OR 5.16), psychotropic drugs (OR 3.93), and subjects having hazardous alcohol drinking (OR 1.93). Self-reported low quality of life (OR 1.97), low sleep quantity (OR 2.00), depressive symptoms (OR 3.06) and anxiety symptoms (OR 2.93) were significantly related to an increase in total gambling activity during lockdown. DISCUSSION AND
conclusionsAlthough gambling substantially decreased during lockdown, time spent in gambling slightly increased. The strong relationship found between compromised mental health and addictive behaviors calls for urgent policies to prevent vulnerable populations from increasing and developing severe gambling addiction.
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