https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7607-639X
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ABSTRACT
This paper reports a qualitative survey of experts in problem gaming and/or problem gambling from 19 countries worldwide on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on problematic gaming and gambling. Twenty-seven problem gaming experts reported (i) no licensing changes, (ii) few existing or newly introduced policies or regulations, (iii) overall increases in gaming, (iv) adverse health-related outcomes, (v) media coverage of gaming and eSports, (vi) limited health service capacity for treatment and prevention, (vii) difficulty in connecting with patients, and (viii) adaptations including transition to telemedicine. Twenty-eight problem gambling experts reported (i) no changes in policies or regulation, (ii) increased activity of off-shore betting companies, and (iii) increases in online gambling, though (iv) decreased expenditure due to closure of land-based gambling venues, (v) adverse health-related outcomes, (vi) some financial benefits from savings, (vii) few and poorly accessible treatment facilities and (viii) transition to telemedicine. There is a need for: guidelines on the prevention and management of excessive gaming and gambling; studies examining the public health consequences of eSports viewing and participation and closure of land-based gambling venues on other forms of gambling; and longitudinal studies in a number of different areas described herein.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to extend a special thank you to Dr Vladimir Poznyak, Dr Alexandra Fleischmann, Dr Dzmitry Krupchanka, and Mr Dag Rekve. They contributed to study design, data management, analysis and interpretation and also provided input with the manuscript writing. Additionally, the authors wish to thank the experts who participated in the study and made the research possible.
Funding sources
No funding sources were declared by the authors in relation to this manuscript.
Constraints on publishing
No constraints on publishing were declared by the authors in relation to this manuscript.
Competing interests
No competing interests were declared by the authors in relation to this manuscript.
Preregistration statement
No preregistration was declared by the authors in relation to this manuscript.
Data availability statement
No data set was declared by the authors in relation to this manuscript.
Supplementary material
Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/14459795.2022.2114526
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Natacha Carragher
Natacha Carragher is a Visiting Fellow at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at the University of New South Wales. Her research interests are in the assessment and classification of mental health disorders and addictive behaviours. She has published widely in peer-reviewed journals and worked in the World Health Organization’s Alcohol, Drugs and Addictive Behaviours Unit from 2015-2022 as a Consultant and the Unit’s focal point on addictive behaviours.
Jiang Long
Jiang Long has an M.D./Ph.D. in Psychiatry and Mental Health. He is a psychiatrist/researcher specializing in disorders due to substance use and addictive behaviors at Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. He was a Consultant in the World Health Organization’s Alcohol, Drugs and Addictive Behaviours Unit (2019-2020).
Ilinca Radu
Ilinca Radu is a consultant at the World Health Organization with the Alcohol, Drugs and Addictive Behaviours Unit, working mainly on alcohol data. She is a young researcher and recent graduate of the Master of Science in Global Health at the University of Copenhagen where she specialized in disease burdens, challenges, and changes, with a focus on improving health systems and access to (primary) care in low- and middle-income countries. She conducted fieldwork in Romania, United Republic of Tanzania and Nepal.
Daniel L. King
Daniel L. King is a clinical psychologist and researcher in the College of Education, Psychology and Social Work at Flinders University. He has published extensively in behavioral addictions and has worked with the World Health Organization (WHO) in relation to the measurement and classification of gaming and Internet-related disorders.
Joël Billieux
Joël Billieux is an Associate Professor of clinical psychology, psychopathology, and psychological assessment. His areas of research include: psychological factors involved in the etiology of addictive behaviors, with a particular focus on self-regulation-related processes; conceptualization and diagnosis of behavioral addictions, and effects of emerging technologies on human behavior.
Hans-Jürgen Rumpf
Hans-Jürgen Rumpf is a psychologist with experience in addiction and health-related behavior since 1993. He is head of the research group S:TEP (Substance-use and related disorders: Treatment, Epidemiology, and Prevention). His research interests include: epidemiology of substance-related disorders, psychiatric disorders, gambling and Internet addiction, and brief interventions.
Sawitri Assanangkornchai
Sawitri Assanangkornchai has extensive research and clinical experiences on psychiatric disorders, including substance-related and addictive disorders and mental health problems. She is also a member of the Workgroup on the public health implications of addictive behaviors and the Technical Advisory Group on Alcohol and Drug Epidemiology of the WHO.
John B. Saunders
John B. Saunders is a consultant physician and clinical academic in internal medicine and addiction medicine. He has worked as a clinician, service director, researcher and policy advisor in the addictive disorders area for over 40 years. His work encompasses individual clinical work, treatment programs and service standards. He has published 380 peer reviewed papers and reviews and six books, and has been a longstanding advisor to WHO.
Susumu Higuchi
Susumu Higuchi is engaged in clinical practice seeing patients with addiction and general psychiatric disorders. He has also conducted epidemiological, genetic and clinical research in the fields of substance use disorders and behavioral addiction. His primary research interest has been gaming disorder - its consequences, prevention, and treatment.