Growth of online sports betting poses significant public health challenge -- New study

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-07/uob-goo070320.php


News Release 3-Jul-2020
University of Bath


A surge in use of online sports betting platforms, and promotional tactics such as free bets to hook users in, pose a significant and growing public health challenge which needs urgent attention from policymakers, according to the author of a new academic study.

Writing in the Journal of Public Health, Dr Darragh McGee from the University of Bath highlights how a normalisation of online sports betting over recent years has had detrimental impacts on the lives of young adult men.

His analysis describes a 'gamblification of sports' - whereby new mobile app technologies and a liberalisation of regulations surrounding sports advertising have combined to broaden the appeal and entry-point of gambling. This has been promoted as something for sports fans to 'enjoy' alongside watching football, horse racing and an array of other sports, he explains.

Drawing on in-depth interviews carried out with 32 young men aged 18-35 engaged in online betting to some degree, four main themes emerge from his research:

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