The Transformation of Gambling in African countries
Led by Professor Bunn, GRG have partnered with researchers in Malawi, Ghana, Nigeria and Tanzania make substantial contributions to the developing scholarship on gambling across African countries. This body of research has identified the strategies used by gambling companies to build markets, how consumers make sense of gambling, the harms that have followed rapid growth and the policy environments in which this has taken place.
A key study in this body of work was the British Academy funded ‘Leisure or Livelihoods’ project, which used participatory, co-creative methods with young people in Malawi and Ghana to explore how the growth of commercial gambling is understood and experienced in their communities. A pioneering study, the research led to a host of creative outputs, circulated via national TV and Radio in Malawi. An example of the creative outputs is a music video, the subject of an article in Sociological Research Online, which has since inspired others to do similar work in the region.
Throughout our collaborations across African countries, we have sought to support African colleagues to develop and lead research. We have provided mentorship to enable these colleagues first author papers, present findings and progress in their careers.
Publications
Mtema, Otiyela, Singano, Isaac “Starlic”, McGee, Darragh, Yakobe, Yamiko, Sichali, Junious, Makamo, Mphatso, Reith, Gerda and Bunn, Christopher (2024) “Creating poverty chances”: young people confront gambling harms in Malawi. Sociological Research Online, 29(4), pp. 1089-1096. (doi: 10.1177/13607804231207152)
Glozah, Franklin, Bunn, Christopher , Sichali, Junious M., Yendork, Joana Salifu, Mtema, Otiyela, Udedi, Michael, Reith, Gerda and McGee, Darragh (2023) Young people and gambling in sub-Saharan Africa: towards a critical research agenda. Journal of the British Academy, 11(s3), pp. 153-172. (doi: 10.5871/jba/011s3.153)
Sichali, Junious Mabo, Bunn, Christopher , McGee, Darragh, Marionneau, Virve K., Yendork, Joana Salifu, Glozah, Franklin, Udedi, Michael and Reith, Gerda (2023) Regulation of gambling in Sub-Saharan Africa: findings from a comparative policy analysis. Public Health, 214, pp. 140-145. (doi: 10.1016/j.puhe.2022.07.018)
Bunn, Christopher , Mtema, Otiyela, Nkhwazi, Laurence, Reith, Gerda and Lwanda, John(2022) 'They say "easy money", telling you to predict the games': an interview study with sports bettors in Lilongwe, Malawi. In: Nikkinen, Janne, Marionneau, Virve and Egerer, Michael (eds.) The Global Gambling Industry: Structures, Tactics and Networks of Impact.Series: Glücksspielforschung. Springer Gabler: Wiesbaden, pp. 113-129. ISBN 9783658356347 (doi: 10.1007/978-3-658-35635-4_8)
Sichali, Junious Mabo, Dube, Albert, Kachiwanda, Lackson, Wardle, Heather , Crampin, Amelia C. and Bunn, Christopher (2021) Case report: a gambling-related suicide in rural Malawi. Wellcome Open Research, 6, 308. (doi: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.17333.1)(PMID:34869913) (PMCID:PMC8609396)
Bunn, Christopher , Mtema, Otiyela, Songo, John and Udedi, Michael (2020) The growth of sports betting in Malawi: corporate strategies, public space and public health. Public Health, 184, pp. 95-101. (doi: 10.1016/j.puhe.2020.03.022) (PMID:32466981)