Gambling Research Glasgow

Lancet Commission

In 2024, The Lancet Public Health Commission on Gambling, co-chaired by Professor Heather Wardle, convened a multidisciplinary panel-including experts in gambling studies, public health, policy, and lived experience-to confront what it described as a “neglected and worsening public health predicament.” The Commission’s systematic review and meta-analysis estimated that globally, approximately 448 million adults are at “any-risk” of gambling-related harms, with at least 80 million experiencing gambling disorder. 

It highlighted that harms extend far beyond clinical disorder - encompassing financial ruin, relationship breakdowns, mental health issues, suicide risks, and crime - and are disproportionately borne by adolescents, socially disadvantaged populations, and communities in low- and middle-income countries. To make sense of these harms, to Commission developed a model of the determinants of gambling and gambling harms:

In response, the Commission issued seven key recommendations, advocating for a public-health approach to gambling-prioritizing regulation over revenue, insulating policy from industry influence, strengthening global and national regulatory frameworks, and advocating for a World Health Assembly resolution and international alliance to combat gambling harms.