ArticleJMIR serious games2021
Changes in Self-Reported Web-Based Gambling Activity During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-sectional Study.
Article in JMIR serious games, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- 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
- Self-exclusion and breaching of self-exclusion from gambling: a repeated survey study on the development of a nationwide self-exclusion service.Harm reduction journal · 2023Article
- Changes in sports gambling behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Article
- Estimation of Behavioral Addiction Prevalence During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Current addiction reports · 2022Review
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
backgroundThe COVID‑19 pandemic has affected not only somatic health with over 3.7 million deaths worldwide, but also has had a huge impact on psychological health, creating what amounts to a mental health crisis. The negative effect of the pandemic on traditional addictions is well described and concerning, and the same has been seen for gambling.
objectiveThis study explores self-reported web-based gambling behavior during the COVID‑19 pandemic in Sweden. We investigated overall changes, but also changes in specific web-based gambling types, and whether they are associated with certain risk factors or lifestyle changes.
methodsOur study is based on an anonymous web-based survey of web panel participants in Sweden (N=1501) designed to study a range of behavioral changes during the COVID‑19 pandemic. Increases in gambling were analyzed using logistic regression models against sociodemographic data and psychological distress.
resultsThe majority of the respondents who gambled reported no changes in their gambling habits during the COVID‑19 pandemic. We found significant associations with the problem gambling severity index (PGSI), the Kessler score (indicating psychological distress), employment status, changes in alcohol habits, and self-exclusion when looking at overall changes in gambling activity in the pandemic. In the subgroup that reported an increase in gambling activity, we found an association with both the PGSI and Kessler scores. The PGSI score was also an independent predictor for all specific web-based gambling (horses, sports, poker, and casino) whereas the Kessler score only had a significant impact on changes in casino gambling. In addition, male gender was an independent predictor for gambling on sports and casino gambling.
conclusionsThe majority of respondents who gambled reported no changes in their gambling activity during the COVID‑19 pandemic. The group that reported an increase in overall gambling activity during the COVID-19 pandemic represent a group with gambling problems and psychological distress. The group that reported increased sports and casino gambling were often male, and this group seemed to experience more psychological distress.
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