Research priorities in gambling: Findings of a large-scale expert study.

addictive behavior; behavioral addiction; compulsive behavior; expert study; gambling; gambling disorder; impulsive behavior; intervention; policy; prevention; research priorities; treatment; Humans; Gambling/therapy; Gambling/prevention & control; Research; Biomedical Research

Abstract :

[en] OBJECTIVE: While gambling is a growing public health concern, research resources are limited, and no guidance is available to prioritise research. This study aimed to identify priorities for gambling research on a global scale using a systematic, transparent, and democratic methodology to inform researchers and other stakeholders. METHODS: Leading gambling researchers were invited to list gambling-related research questions that can contribute to strengthening evidence-based policy, prevention, and effective early intervention and treatment of problem gambling. Suggestions were consolidated into research options and evaluated against six criteria (Answerability, Feasibility, Effectiveness, Impact on equity and an additional two based on the category of research options: Novelty and Relevance for description-type, Potential for burden reduction and Deliverability for intervention-related options). Stakeholders (n = 14) assigned relative weights to each criterion, and options were ranked according to their weighted research priority scores. RESULTS: With input from 46.9% of eligible researchers (n = 307) from 35 countries, 1,361 questions were consolidated into 102 options. Evaluations showed strong agreement between experts, and the top 25 priorities were identified. The results highlight the need for further knowledge about the epidemiology, etiology, and consequences of problem gambling. Top-priority topics indicate the importance of focusing on vulnerable and minority groups, youth, significant others, technological innovations, advertisements, the convergence of gaming and gambling, and co-occurring conditions. Evaluating and tailoring existing measures were prioritised more highly than new interventions, and identifying factors underlying treatment seeking, drop-out and relapse was also considered a priority. CONCLUSIONS: This initiative successfully involved the global research community in identifying gambling research priorities. The results provide information for researchers and other stakeholders for future projects and funding.

Disciplines :

Theoretical & cognitive psychology

Author, co-author :

Czakó, Andrea ; 1Centre of Excellence in Responsible Gaming, University of Gibraltar, Gibraltar, Gibraltar ; 2Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary

Potenza, Marc N ; 3Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA ; 4Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA ; 5Connecticut Mental Health Center, New Haven, CT, USA ; 6Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling, Wethersfield, CT, USA ; 7Department of Neuroscience, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA ; 8Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

Hodgins, David C ; 9Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada

Yu, Shu M ; 1Centre of Excellence in Responsible Gaming, University of Gibraltar, Gibraltar, Gibraltar

Wu, Anise M S ; 10Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Macau, Macao, China ; 11Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Institute of Collaborative Innovation, University of Macau, Macao, China

Jiménez-Murcia, Susana ; 12Clinical Psychology Department, Bellvitge University Hospital- Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Barcelona, Spain ; 13Ciber Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBERObn), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Barcelona, Spain ; 14Psychoneurobiology of Eating and Addictive Behaviors Group, Neurosciences Programme, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Barcelona, Spain ; 15Department of Clinical Sciences, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

Bowden-Jones, Henrietta ; 16Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, UK ; 17National Problem Gambling Clinic & National Centre for Gaming Disorders, London, UK ; 18Department of Brain Sciences, University College London, London, UK

King, Daniel ; 19School of Psychology, The University of Adelaide, Australia ; 20Flinders University Institute for Mental Health and Wellbeing, College of Education, Psychology and Social Work, Flinders University, Bedford Park, SA, Australia

Billieux, Joël ; 21Institute of Psychology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland ; 22Centre for Excessive Gambling, Addiction Medicine, Lausanne University Hospitals (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland

Bőthe, Beáta ; 23Département de Psychologie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada

More authors (3 more)

Other collaborator :

Cornil, Aurélien ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de Psychologie > Psychologie clinique de l'adulte

Language :

English

Title :

Research priorities in gambling: Findings of a large-scale expert study.

Publication date :

30 September 2025

Journal title :

Journal of Behavioral Addictions

ISSN :

2062-5871

eISSN :

2063-5303

Publisher :

Akademiai Kiado Zrt., Hungary

Volume :

Issue :

Pages :

1222 - 1249

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Additional URL :

https://akjournals.com/view/journals/2006/14/3/article-p1222.xml

Available on ORBi :

since 10 October 2025

Statistics

Number of views

31 (1 by ULiège)

Number of downloads

30 (0 by ULiège)

More statistics

Scopus citations^®

Scopus citations^®
without self-citations

OpenCitations

OpenAlex citations

Bibliography

Abbott, M., Binde, P., Clark, L., Hodgins, D., Johnson, M., Manitowabi, D., … Williams, R. (2018). Conceptual framework of harmful gambling (3rd ed.). Gambling Research Exchange Ontario. 10.33684/CFHG3.enhttps://doi.org/10.33684/CFHG3.en
American Psychiatric Association (2022). Diagnostic and statistical Manual of mental disorders (DSM-5-TR). American Psychiatric Association Publishing. 10.1176/appi.books.9780890425787https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425787
Armitage, R. (2021). Gambling among adolescents: An emerging public health problem. The Lancet Public Health, 6(3), e143. 10.1016/S2468-2667(21)00026-8https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(21)00026-8
ATLAS.ti Scientific Software Development GmbH (2023). ATLAS.ti Web. [Computer software]. Retrieved from https://atlasti.com.
Bijker, R., Booth, N., Merkouris, S. S., Dowling, N. A., & Rodda, S. N. (2022). Global prevalence of help‐seeking for problem gambling: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. Addiction, 117(12), 2972–2985. 10.1111/add.15952https://doi.org/10.1111/add.15952
Bowden-Jones, H., Hook, R. W., Grant, J. E., Ioannidis, K., Corazza, O., Fineberg, N. A., … Chamberlain, S. R. (2022). Gambling disorder in the UK: Key research priorities and the urgent need for independent research funding. The Lancet Psychiatry, 9(4), 321–329. 10.1016/S2215-0366(21)00356-4https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(21)00356-4
Brand, M., Antons, S., Bőthe, B., Demetrovics, Z., Fineberg, N. A., Jimenez-Murcia, S., ... Potenza, M. N. (2025). Current Advances in Behavioral Addictions: From Fundamental Research to Clinical Practice. American Journal of Psychiatry, 182(2), 155–163. 10.1176/appi.ajp.20240092https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.20240092
Browne, M., Langham, E., Rawat, V., Greer, N., Li, E., Rose, J., … Best, T. (2016, April). Assessing gambling-related harm in Victoria: A public health perspective. Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, Melbourne Retrieved from https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2016-04/apo-nid62714.pdf.
Browne, M., & Rockloff, M. J. (2018). Prevalence of gambling-related harm provides evidence for the prevention paradox. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 7(2), 410–422. 10.1556/2006.7.2018.41https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.7.2018.41
Calado, F., Alexandre, J., & Griffiths, M. D. (2017). Prevalence of adolescent problem gambling: A systematic review of recent research. Journal of Gambling Studies, 33(2), 397–424. 10.1007/s10899-016-9627-5https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-016-9627-5
Collins, P. Y., Patel, V., Joestl, S. S., March, D., Insel, T. R., Daar, A. S., … Walport, M. (2011). Grand challenges in global mental health. Nature, 475(7354), 27–30. 10.1038/475027ahttps://doi.org/10.1038/475027a
Dowling, N. A., Cowlishaw, S., Jackson, A. C., Merkouris, S. S., Francis, K. L., & Christensen, D. R. (2015). Prevalence of psychiatric co-morbidity in treatment-seeking problem gamblers: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 49(6), 519–539. 10.1177/0004867415575774https://doi.org/10.1177/0004867415575774
Dowling, N. A., Merkouris, S. S., Dias, S., Rodda, S. N., Manning, V., Youssef, G. J., … Volberg, R. A. (2019). The diagnostic accuracy of brief screening instruments for problem gambling: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 74, 101784. 10.1016/j.cpr.2019.101784https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2019.101784
Eben, C., Bőthe, B., Brevers, D., Clark, L., Grubbs, J. B., Heirene, R., … Billieux, J. (2023). The landscape of open science in behavioral addiction research: Current practices and future directions. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 12(4), 862–870. 10.1556/2006.2023.00052https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.2023.00052
Emond, A. M., & Griffiths, M. D. (2020). Gambling in children and adolescents. British Medical Bulletin, 136(1), 21–29. 10.1093/bmb/ldaa027https://doi.org/10.1093/bmb/ldaa027
Fineberg, N. A., Demetrovics, Z., Stein, D. J., Ioannidis, K., Potenza, M. N., Grünblatt, E., … Chamberlain, S. R. (2018). Manifesto for a European research network into problematic usage of the internet. European Neuropsychopharmacology: The Journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 28(11), 1232–1246. 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2018.08.004https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroneuro.2018.08.004
Gartner, C., Bickl, A., Härtl, S., Loy, J. K., & Häffner, L. (2022). Differences in problem and pathological gambling: A narrative review considering sex and gender. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 11(2), 267–289. 10.1556/2006.2022.00019https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.2022.00019
Gjoneska, B., Bőthe, B., Potenza, M. N., Szabo, A., & Demetrovics, Z. (2025). Epidemiology of behavioral addictions. In I. Franken, R. Wiers, & K. Witkiewitz (Eds.), The Sage Handbook of Addiction Psychology (pp. 47–62). Sage Publications Ltd. 10.4135/9781529673913.n4https://doi.org/10.4135/9781529673913.n4
Grall-Bronnec, M., Guillou-Landreat, M., Caillon, J., Dubertret, C., Romo, L., Codina, I., Chereau-Boudet, I., Lancon, C., Auriacombe, M., Hardouin, J.-B., & Challet-Bouju, G. (2021). Five-year follow-up on a sample of gamblers: Predictive factors of relapse. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 10(1), 42–54. 10.1556/2006.2021.00009https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.2021.00009
Grant, J. E., & Chamberlain, S. R. (2023). Gambling disorder in minority ethnic groups. Addictive Behaviors, 136, 107475. 10.1016/j.addbeh.2022.107475https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2022.107475
Hartmann, M., & Blaszczynski, A. (2018). The longitudinal relationships between psychiatric disorders and gambling disorders. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 16(1), 16–44. 10.1007/s11469-016-9705-zhttps://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-016-9705-z
Hing, N., Russell, A. M. T., Browne, M., Rockloff, M., Tulloch, C., Rawat, V., … Woo, L. (2022). Gambling-related harms to concerned significant others: A national Australian prevalence study. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 11(2), 361–372. 10.1556/2006.2022.00045https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.2022.00045
Király, O., Zhang, J., Demetrovics, Z., & Browne, D. T. (2021). Gambling features and monetization in video games creates challenges for young people, families, and clinicians. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, S089085672102044X. 10.1016/j.jaac.2021.12.003https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2021.12.003
Langham, E., Thorne, H., Browne, M., Donaldson, P., Rose, J., & Rockloff, M. (2015). Understanding gambling related harm: A proposed definition, conceptual framework, and taxonomy of harms. BMC Public Health, 16(1), 80. 10.1186/s12889-016-2747-0https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-016-2747-0
Lee, B. N., & Grubbs, J. B. (2023). Problem gambling within sexual and gender minorities: A systematic review. Addictive Behaviors, 144, 107742. 10.1016/j.addbeh.2023.107742https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2023.107742
Moreira, D., Azeredo, A., & Dias, P. (2023). Risk factors for gambling disorder: A systematic review. Journal of Gambling Studies, 39(2), 483–511. 10.1007/s10899-023-10195-1https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-023-10195-1
Okuda, M., Liu, W., Cisewski, J. A., Segura, L., Storr, C. L., & Martins, S. S. (2016). Gambling disorder and minority populations: Prevalence and risk factors. Current Addiction Reports, 3(3), 280–292. 10.1007/s40429-016-0108-9https://doi.org/10.1007/s40429-016-0108-9
Petry, N. M., Stinson, F. S., & Grant, B. F. (2005). Comorbidity of DSM-IV pathological gambling and other psychiatric disorders: Results from the national epidemiologic survey on alcohol and related conditions. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 66(05), 564–574. 10.4088/JCP.v66n0504https://doi.org/10.4088/JCP.v66n0504
Pfund, R. A., Peter, S. C., McAfee, N. W., Ginley, M. K., Whelan, J. P., & Meyers, A. W. (2021). Dropout from face-to-face, multi-session psychological treatments for problem and disordered gambling: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 35(8), 901–913. 10.1037/adb0000710https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000710
Rudan, I., Chopra, M., Kapiriri, L., Gibson, J., Lansang, M. A., Carneiro, I., … Black, R. E. (2008). Setting priorities in global child health research investments: Universal challenges and conceptual framework. Croatian Medical Journal, 49(3), 307–317. 10.3325/cmj.2008.3.307https://doi.org/10.3325/cmj.2008.3.307
Rudan, I., Gibson, J. L., Ameratunga, S., El Arifeen, S., Bhutta, Z. A., Black, M., … Webster, J. (2008). Setting priorities in global child health research investments: Guidelines for implementation of the CHNRI method. Croatian Medical Journal, 49(6), 720–733. 10.3325/cmj.2008.49.720https://doi.org/10.3325/cmj.2008.49.720
Rudan, I., Yoshida, S., Chan, K. Y., Sridhar, D., Wazny, K., Nair, H., … Cousens, S. (2017). Setting health research priorities using the CHNRI method: VII. A review of the first 50 applications of the CHNRI method. Journal of Global Health, 7(1), 011004. 10.7189/jogh.07.011004https://doi.org/10.7189/jogh.07.011004
Swanton, T. B., Blaszczynski, A., Forlini, C., Starcevic, V., & Gainsbury, S. M. (2021). Problematic risk-taking involving emerging technologies: A stakeholder framework to minimize harms. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 9(4), 869–875. 10.1556/2006.8.2019.52https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.8.2019.52
Tomlinson, M. (2009). Setting priorities for global mental health research. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 87(6), 438–446. 10.2471/BLT.08.054353https://doi.org/10.2471/BLT.08.054353
Torrance, J., John, B., Greville, J., O’Hanrahan, M., Davies, N., & Roderique-Davies, G. (2021). Emergent gambling advertising; a rapid review of marketing content, delivery and structural features. BMC Public Health, 21(1), 718. 10.1186/s12889-021-10805-whttps://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-10805-w
Tran, L. T., Wardle, H., Colledge-Frisby, S., Taylor, S., Lynch, M., Rehm, J., … Degenhardt, L. (2024). The prevalence of gambling and problematic gambling: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet Public Health, S2468266724001269. 10.1016/S2468-2667(24)00126-9https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(24)00126-9
Tulloch, C., Browne, M., Hing, N., Rockloff, M., & Hilbrecht, M. (2023). How gambling harms others: The influence of relationship-type and closeness on harm, health, and wellbeing. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 12(3), 697–710. 10.1556/2006.2023.00036https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.2023.00036
Ukhova, D., Marionneau, V., Nikkinen, J., & Wardle, H. (2024). Public health approaches to gambling: A global review of legislative trends. The Lancet Public Health, 9(1), e57–e67. 10.1016/S2468-2667(23)00221-9https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(23)00221-9
Wardle, H., Degenhardt, L., Ceschia, A., & Saxena, S. (2021). The lancet public health commission on gambling. The Lancet Public Health, 6(1), e2–e3. 10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30289-9https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30289-9
Wardle, H., Degenhardt, L., Marionneau, V., Reith, G., Livingstone, C., Sparrow, M., … Saxena, S. (2024). The lancet public health commission on gambling. The Lancet Public Health, 9(11), e950–e994. 10.1016/S2468-2667(24)00167-1https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(24)00167-1
West, R., Hao, W., Lam, T. H., Lau, J., Li, J., Li, J., … Zhao, M. (2019). Addiction in China: Towards a research agenda for the next 5 years. Addiction (Abingdon, England), 114(11), 1911–1914. 10.1111/add.14650https://doi.org/10.1111/add.14650
World Health Organization (2019). International Classification of Diseases (11th ed.). Retrieved from https://icd.who.int/.
Wullinger, P. M., Bickl, A. M., Loy, J. K., Kraus, L., & Schwarzkopf, L. (2023). Longitudinal associations between psychiatric comorbidity and the severity of gambling disorder: Results from a 36-month follow-up study of clients in Bavarian outpatient addiction care. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 12(2), 535–546. 10.1556/2006.2023.00026https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.2023.00026
Young People and Gambling (2023). Gambling Commission. Retrieved from https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/report/young-people-and-gambling-2023.
Zendle, D., & Cairns, P. (2018). Video game loot boxes are linked to problem gambling: Results of a large-scale survey. Plos One, 13(11), e0206767. 10.1371/journal.pone.0206767https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0206767