ArticleFrontiers in psychiatry2026
Help-seeking for gambling problems during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study on the experiences of Norwegian help providers and their insights into gamblers.
Article in Frontiers in psychiatry, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic led to significant societal disruptions, including changes in gambling availability, gambling behaviours, and demand for support services. Although gambling support services play a crucial role in aiding individuals experiencing gambling-related harm, research regarding how help providers themselves perceived the pandemic's impact on their work and callers is lacking. Methods: This qualitative study investigated Norwegian help providers' experiences of COVID-19 and how it affected gambling and gambling-related conversations. Semi-structured interviews with thirteen help providers were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: The analysis identified five main themes: 1) Gamblers became more open, chatty, and support-seeking, 2) help providers experienced obstacles in offering support, with gamblers being reluctant to and/or impeded from receiving help, 3) COVID-19 created an opportunity to address gambling-related issues, as many became more aware of problematic behaviours amid financial hardship and reduced access to gambling platforms, 4) gambling had a heightened appeal during COVID-19, including perceptions of greater gambling availability in addition to a desire to escape as a motive to gamble, and 5) COVID-19 had minimal impact on support conversations. Conclusion: Despite appearing somewhat contradictory, the findings offer new insights into the multifaceted impact of COVID-19 on gambling and may inform future preventive and intervention efforts.
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