Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36729109›Full record

ArticleJournal of behavioral addictions2023

Unambiguous evidence that over half of gambling problems in Australia are caused by electronic gambling machines: Results from a large-scale composite population study.

Matthew Browne, Paul Delfabbro, Hannah B Thorne, Catherine Tulloch, Matthew J Rockloff, Nerilee Hing, Nicki A Dowling, Matthew Stevens

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of behavioral addictions, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
24citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

24 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Matthew Browne1Experimental Gambling Research Laboratory, School of Human, Medical, and Applied Sciences, CQUniversity, Bundaberg, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-2668-6229
Paul Delfabbro2School of Psychology, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-0466-5611
Hannah B Thorne1Experimental Gambling Research Laboratory, School of Human, Medical, and Applied Sciences, CQUniversity, Bundaberg, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-2830-2911
Catherine Tulloch1Experimental Gambling Research Laboratory, School of Human, Medical, and Applied Sciences, CQUniversity, Bundaberg, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-2842-5110
Matthew J Rockloff1Experimental Gambling Research Laboratory, School of Human, Medical, and Applied Sciences, CQUniversity, Bundaberg, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-0080-2690
Nerilee Hing1Experimental Gambling Research Laboratory, School of Human, Medical, and Applied Sciences, CQUniversity, Bundaberg, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-2150-9784
Nicki A Dowling3School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-8592-2407
Matthew Stevens4STRS Consultants, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-7491-7669

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background and aims: It is well understood that engagement with some forms of gambling, like EGMs, is riskier than other forms. However, while reports of associations are common, few studies have attempted to evaluate and compare the relative risk of all available forms, and none have estimated the relative contribution of each form to the total burden of gambling problems (GP) in a population. Methods: Using an aggregated dataset of national and state-based prevalence studies in Australia (N = 71,103), we estimated prevalence and unique effects of frequency of engagement on each form on GP. Two alternative numerical methods were then applied to infer the relative contribution of each form to the total amount of GP. Results: EGMs are responsible for 51%-57% of gambling problems in Australia, and 90% of gambling problems are attributable to EGMs, casino, race, and sports betting. Casino table games and EGMs are equally risky at the individual level, but the former contribute far less to problems due to low participation. Bingo and lottery play show no statistically detectable risk for GP. Discussion and conclusion: The results illustrate which forms present the greatest population burden and illuminate the reasons why. EGMs have an outsized impact. EGM uniquely combines high risk conditional on play, with a high participation rate and a high frequency of play among participants. This is in contrast to risky but less commonly played casino games, and prevalent but non-risky forms like lotteries. We conclude that EGM regulation should be a primary focus of policy action in Australia. More innovative policy ideas relating to EGMs should be tested due to the disproportionate impact of this product type.

Indexed as

Behavior, AddictiveGamblingAustraliaElectronicsHumansRisk-Takingelectronic gaming machinesgamblinggambling harmgambling policygambling problemsharm minimisation

Identifiers

PMID36729109
PMCPMC10260219

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.