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ABSTRACT
The Italian gambling market has been growing since the 1990s, becoming one of the world’s largest markets. However, since 2004, a number of municipalities have taken measures to limit the negative outcomes of gambling by introducing local regulations, especially ‘timing’ and ‘zoning’ measures aimed at reducing the number of Electronic Gambling Machines. This attempt to limit gambling has sparked strong reactions from the State and the industry. Drawing on data from three focus groups conducted in two Italian Regions involving 30 participants belonging to a broad variety of stakeholders, the present study aims to provide a picture of the current debate on gambling regulation. The study applies qualitative content analysis to examine the stakeholders’ different arguments and shows how the rhetorical strategies of the industry – namely confining the risks to specific vulnerable targets, negative impact on the labor market, increase in illegal gambling, ineffectiveness of local regulation in reducing problem gambling – play a major role in the social construction of the problem. Other stakeholders’ and social actors’ arguments are weak by comparison. To counteract the industry’s rhetoric, more studies of gambling policies and regulation are needed, while scientific evidence should be more effectively disseminated.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the local health service work groups from ASL TO3 (Mauro Croce, Federica Devietti Goggia, Caterina Raimondi, Marzia Lydia Spagnolo) and ASL NA1 Centro (Stefano Vecchio, Luigia Cappuccio, Erminia Ambrosio, Silvana Caruso, Chiara Cicala, Anna Di Maro, Laura Koelliker, Stefania Pacca, Giuseppe Pennacchio).
Competing interests
None of the authors in the last three years received any funding that may be perceived to be a conflict of interest. Beccaria, Rolando and Scavarda declare that they have no conflict of interest. Jarre is member of the board of ALEA (Association for risk behaviours and gambling studies), which plays a role in defending citizens from gambling related harm.
Constraints on Publishing
Authors declare no contractual constraints existing with regard to the submitted manuscript.
Additional Information to the Editor
The above mentioned Fund (for compulsive gambling …) is a national fund, distributed by the Ministry of Health to Regions. In Piedmont it was used to fund the ‘Integrated plan for law enforcement, prevention, diagnosis, treatment of pathological gambling (GAP)’ (Deliberation of the Regional Council, 27 December 2017) which following the art. 12 of the Regional Law 9/2016 includes also monitoring and evaluation of regulation measures aimed at reducing problem gambling. The regional integrated plan was approved by the National Observatory on Gambling, a government body. Funder institutes have the mandate to safeguard citizens from the harm caused by gambling, which might be considered a competing interesting.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Ethics
Formal ethics approval was not required since the study did not pose risks to participants nor include vulnerable populations. However, current Italian legislation on privacy was respected.
Notes
1. As of January 2019, 17 out of 20 regions had passed such legislation.
2. See, for example, the item printed in the national newspaper La Stampa, on 7 December 2017.
3. An example is provided by the article in the 14 May 2019 issue of La Stampa.
4. Quotations are accompanied by a code consisting of the number assigned to the participant in the FG s/he attended, the location of the FG (NA = Naples; TO = Torino area; NO = Novara area), and the participant’s role.
Additional information
Funding
Notes on contributors
Sara Rolando
Sara Rolando PhD, sociologist, has been working as social researcher at Eclectica since 2007. She achieved her doctoral degree at the University of Helsinki, Finland, with a thesis comparing youth drinking cultures in different geographies. Expert in qualitative, web-based, and comparative methods, her main research interests are alcohol, drugs, gambling, and other addictive behaviors.
Alice Scavarda
Alice Scavarda, PhD, sociologist, has been working in Eclectica since 2015 on gambling, mental health and aging. Her research interests also revolve around disability and chronic illness. She is a member of ESA (European Sociological Association) and AIS (Italian Sociological Association) and adjunt professor of Sociology of Health at the University of Torino.
Paolo Jarre
Paolo Jarre, MD, specialist in Internal Medicine, Systemic Psychotherapist, Director of Addiction Department of NHS at ASL TO3 Collegno (To), Piedmont Region, works in the field of drug and alcohol addiction since 1983 and expressly in that of pathological gambling since 2002. He manages 9 outpatient facilities, 3 residential treatment programs and other harm reduction interventions
Franca Beccaria
Franca Beccaria, PhD., is a sociologist, partner in Eclectica, a research institute in Torino (Italy), contract professor at the EMDAS, European Master on Drug and Alcohol Studies, the Avogadro University (Novara) and at University of Torino (Italy). Her main research interests are alcohol and culture, drinking styles, prevention, and sociology of health.