Dr Blair Biggar
- Lecturer in Sociology, Lecturer (Sociological & Cultural Studies)
- Associate (School of Health & Wellbeing)
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164Biography
Dr Blair Biggar is a Lecturer in Sociology whose research focuses on gambling harms, migration, health, and social inequalities. He has extensive experience leading and delivering social research across academic and third-sector settings, alongside more than seven years of university teaching and supervision at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
Blair specialises in qualitative research design, methodology, and analysis, with particular expertise in understanding lived experiences and the social determinants of inequality. His work is interdisciplinary and addresses issues relating to gambling, health, migration, citizenship, and marginalisation. He is currently Co-Lead of the UKRI-funded Youth Gambling Harm Research and Innovation Partnership (YP-GHRIP), a UK-wide initiative that brings together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to prevent and reduce gambling-related harms among children and young people. He also leads research examining gambling harms within grassroots football and contributes to a range of collaborative projects exploring gambling, public health, and social inequality.
Blair completed his PhD in Central and Eastern European Studies at the University of Glasgow in 2022. His doctoral research examined the lived citizenship experiences of EU Roma migrants in Scotland. Since then, he has worked across several major research initiatives, including Football Fans and Betting (FFAB), the Lancet Public Health Commission on Gambling, Words Matter: A Language Guide for Reporting on Gambling, and Retirement at Risk: Exploring Gambling Harm Among Older Adults.
His research has been published in peer-reviewed journals, edited collections, and research reports. He regularly contributes to public debate and media discussions on gambling and social inequalities, with appearances and contributions including The Guardian, BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio Scotland, and BBC Scotland's The Nine. He also serves as a peer reviewer for academic journals and research funding bodies.
Research interests
Gambling Studies
Citizenship, inequalities, and everyday life
Community
Migration Studies
Qualitative research
Research groups
Publications
2026
Biggar, Blair 
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164 and Wardle, Heather ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1361-3706
(2026)
Developing Words Matter: a language guide for respectful and non-stigmatizing reporting on gambling harms.
International Gambling Studies,
(doi: 10.1080/14459795.2026.2727848)
(Early Online Publication)
Biggar, B. et al. (2026) An uneven playing field: a mixed methods, multiphase feasibility study of a programme to reduce gambling among at-risk men in a professional football club setting. BMC Public Health, (doi: 10.1186/s12889-026-26845-z) (PMID:41781913) (Early Online Publication)
2025
Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Champion, Hannah, Jones, Matthew, Dighton, Glen, Larcombe, Justyn, Fossey, Matt and Dymond, Simon
(2025)
Help and support for gambling harm among United Kingdom Armed Forces personnel: A mixed-methods study.
Journal of Health Services Research and Policy,
(doi: 10.1177/13558196251409041)
(PMID:41420411)
(Early Online Publication)
Bunn, Christopher ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6604-1305, Ukhova, Daria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9554-8604, Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Pryce, Rob, Abdelhadi, Yasir, Hussain, Uzmah, Hughes, Colin, Inston, Fiona and Wardle, Heather ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1361-3706
(2025)
Gambling Harms in Blackburn with Darwen: a needs assessment.
Documentation.
University of Glasgow.
(doi: 10.36399/gla.pubs.352430/).
Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164
(2025)
How to keep your ‘story straight’: exploring lived citizenship through documents in the case of EU Roma migrants in Scotland.
Citizenship Studies,
(doi: 10.1080/13621025.2025.2542181)
(Early Online Publication)
Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164
(2025)
Language, citizenship, and community: insights from ethnographic fieldwork with EU Roma migrants in Scotland.
Language and Intercultural Communication,
(doi: 10.1080/14708477.2025.2519907)
(Early Online Publication)
Reith, G. et al. (2025) Group-based interventions to reduce gambling involvement among male football fans: a synopsis of findings from a feasibility study. Public Health Research, 13(6), pp. 1-24. (doi: 10.3310/SWWP9393) (PMID:40690427)
Champion, Hannah, Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Jones, Matthew, Larcombe, Justyn, Fossey, Matt and Dymond, Simon
(2025)
A qualitative analysis of the experience of gambling harm and accessing support among United Kingdom Armed Forces personnel.
Discover Psychology, 5,
30.
(doi: 10.1007/s44202-025-00357-0)
2024
Wardle, H. et al. (2024) The Lancet Public Health Commission on gambling. Lancet Public Health, 9(11), e950-e994. (doi: 10.1016/S2468-2667(24)00167-1) (PMID:39491880)
Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Reith, Gerda ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6539-0295 and Wardle, Heather ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1361-3706
(2024)
The Football Fans and Betting Project – Findings from an Early Intervention for Male Sports Bettors.
Lisbon Addictions, European Conference on Addictive Behaviours and Dependencies, Lisbon Congress Centre, 23-25 October 2024.
Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164 and Wardle, Heather ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1361-3706
(2024)
Words Matter: A language guide for respectful reporting on gambling.
Documentation.
University of Glasgow, Glasgow.
(doi: 10.36399/gla.pubs.330660).
2023
Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Wardle, Heather ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1361-3706 and Reith, Gerda ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6539-0295
(2023)
The Football Fans and Betting Project – Preliminary Findings From an Early Intervention for Male Sports Bettors.
2023 Football Collective Conference, Leeds Beckett University, 25-26 November 2023.
Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164
(2023)
Language, Citizenship, and Community: Insights from Ethnographic Fieldwork with EU Roma Migrants in Scotland.
BASEES Conference, Cambridge, UK, 5-7 April 2024.
(Accepted for Publication)
Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Wardle, Heather ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1361-3706 and Reith, Gerda ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6539-0295
(2023)
The ‘Football Fans and Betting’ Project: Challenges and Lessons Learned from an Early Intervention for Male Sports Bettors.
16th European Public Health Conference, Dublin, Ireland, 9-11 November 2023.
Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Kesaite, Viktorija, Ukhova, Daria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9554-8604 and Wardle, Heather ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1361-3706
(2023)
Young women sports bettors in the United Kingdom: an overlooked demographic?
In: McGee, Darrah and Bunn, Christopher (eds.)
Gambling and Sports in a Global Age.
Series: Research in the sociology of sport (18).
Emerald: Leeds, pp. 145-167.
ISBN 9781801173056
(doi: 10.1108/S1476-285420230000018010)
Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Reith, Gerda ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6539-0295 and Wardle, Heather ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1361-3706
(2023)
The ‘FFAB’ project: Lessons learned from an early health intervention for male sports bettors.
European Journal of Public Health, 33(S2),
ckad160.17.
(doi: 10.1093/eurpub/ckad160.173)
Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Zendle, David and Wardle, Heather ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1361-3706
(2023)
Targeting the next generation of gamblers? Gambling sponsorship of esports teams.
Journal of Public Health, 45(3),
pp. 636-644.
(doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdac167)
(PMID:37000185)
(PMCID:PMC10470326)
Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Wardle, Heather ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1361-3706 and Reith, Gerda ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6539-0295
(2023)
The ‘Football Fans and Betting’ Project: Challenges and Lessons Learned from an Early Intervention for Male Sports Bettors.
Current Advances in Gambling Research (CAGR 2023), London, UK, 28-29 June 2023.
2022
Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Wardle, Heather ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1361-3706 and Zendle, David
(2022)
Targeting the Next Generation of Gamblers? Gambling Sponsorship of Esports Teams.
Current Advances in Gambling Research (CAGR 2022), Cardiff, UK, 19-20 May 2022.
2019
Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164
(2019)
Sam Beck and Ana Ivasiuc, eds. 2018. Roma Activism: Reimagining Power and Knowledge. New York: Berghahn Books.
Critical Romani Studies, 2(1),
pp. 86-91.
(doi: 10.29098/crs.v2i1.48)[Book Review]
Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164
(2019)
Contesting (In)security: Reflections on the Location of Solidarity in the Everyday Lives of Roma in Scotland.
UAES 2019 Inter-Congress “World Solidarities”, Poznan, Poland, 27-31 August 2019.
Articles
Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164 and Wardle, Heather ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1361-3706
(2026)
Developing Words Matter: a language guide for respectful and non-stigmatizing reporting on gambling harms.
International Gambling Studies,
(doi: 10.1080/14459795.2026.2727848)
(Early Online Publication)
Biggar, B. et al. (2026) An uneven playing field: a mixed methods, multiphase feasibility study of a programme to reduce gambling among at-risk men in a professional football club setting. BMC Public Health, (doi: 10.1186/s12889-026-26845-z) (PMID:41781913) (Early Online Publication)
Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Champion, Hannah, Jones, Matthew, Dighton, Glen, Larcombe, Justyn, Fossey, Matt and Dymond, Simon
(2025)
Help and support for gambling harm among United Kingdom Armed Forces personnel: A mixed-methods study.
Journal of Health Services Research and Policy,
(doi: 10.1177/13558196251409041)
(PMID:41420411)
(Early Online Publication)
Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164
(2025)
How to keep your ‘story straight’: exploring lived citizenship through documents in the case of EU Roma migrants in Scotland.
Citizenship Studies,
(doi: 10.1080/13621025.2025.2542181)
(Early Online Publication)
Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164
(2025)
Language, citizenship, and community: insights from ethnographic fieldwork with EU Roma migrants in Scotland.
Language and Intercultural Communication,
(doi: 10.1080/14708477.2025.2519907)
(Early Online Publication)
Reith, G. et al. (2025) Group-based interventions to reduce gambling involvement among male football fans: a synopsis of findings from a feasibility study. Public Health Research, 13(6), pp. 1-24. (doi: 10.3310/SWWP9393) (PMID:40690427)
Champion, Hannah, Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Jones, Matthew, Larcombe, Justyn, Fossey, Matt and Dymond, Simon
(2025)
A qualitative analysis of the experience of gambling harm and accessing support among United Kingdom Armed Forces personnel.
Discover Psychology, 5,
30.
(doi: 10.1007/s44202-025-00357-0)
Wardle, H. et al. (2024) The Lancet Public Health Commission on gambling. Lancet Public Health, 9(11), e950-e994. (doi: 10.1016/S2468-2667(24)00167-1) (PMID:39491880)
Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Reith, Gerda ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6539-0295 and Wardle, Heather ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1361-3706
(2023)
The ‘FFAB’ project: Lessons learned from an early health intervention for male sports bettors.
European Journal of Public Health, 33(S2),
ckad160.17.
(doi: 10.1093/eurpub/ckad160.173)
Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Zendle, David and Wardle, Heather ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1361-3706
(2023)
Targeting the next generation of gamblers? Gambling sponsorship of esports teams.
Journal of Public Health, 45(3),
pp. 636-644.
(doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdac167)
(PMID:37000185)
(PMCID:PMC10470326)
Book Sections
Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Kesaite, Viktorija, Ukhova, Daria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9554-8604 and Wardle, Heather ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1361-3706
(2023)
Young women sports bettors in the United Kingdom: an overlooked demographic?
In: McGee, Darrah and Bunn, Christopher (eds.)
Gambling and Sports in a Global Age.
Series: Research in the sociology of sport (18).
Emerald: Leeds, pp. 145-167.
ISBN 9781801173056
(doi: 10.1108/S1476-285420230000018010)
Book Reviews
Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164
(2019)
Sam Beck and Ana Ivasiuc, eds. 2018. Roma Activism: Reimagining Power and Knowledge. New York: Berghahn Books.
Critical Romani Studies, 2(1),
pp. 86-91.
(doi: 10.29098/crs.v2i1.48)[Book Review]
Research Reports or Papers
Bunn, Christopher ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6604-1305, Ukhova, Daria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9554-8604, Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Pryce, Rob, Abdelhadi, Yasir, Hussain, Uzmah, Hughes, Colin, Inston, Fiona and Wardle, Heather ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1361-3706
(2025)
Gambling Harms in Blackburn with Darwen: a needs assessment.
Documentation.
University of Glasgow.
(doi: 10.36399/gla.pubs.352430/).
Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164 and Wardle, Heather ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1361-3706
(2024)
Words Matter: A language guide for respectful reporting on gambling.
Documentation.
University of Glasgow, Glasgow.
(doi: 10.36399/gla.pubs.330660).
Conference or Workshop Item
Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Reith, Gerda ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6539-0295 and Wardle, Heather ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1361-3706
(2024)
The Football Fans and Betting Project – Findings from an Early Intervention for Male Sports Bettors.
Lisbon Addictions, European Conference on Addictive Behaviours and Dependencies, Lisbon Congress Centre, 23-25 October 2024.
Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Wardle, Heather ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1361-3706 and Reith, Gerda ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6539-0295
(2023)
The Football Fans and Betting Project – Preliminary Findings From an Early Intervention for Male Sports Bettors.
2023 Football Collective Conference, Leeds Beckett University, 25-26 November 2023.
Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164
(2023)
Language, Citizenship, and Community: Insights from Ethnographic Fieldwork with EU Roma Migrants in Scotland.
BASEES Conference, Cambridge, UK, 5-7 April 2024.
(Accepted for Publication)
Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Wardle, Heather ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1361-3706 and Reith, Gerda ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6539-0295
(2023)
The ‘Football Fans and Betting’ Project: Challenges and Lessons Learned from an Early Intervention for Male Sports Bettors.
16th European Public Health Conference, Dublin, Ireland, 9-11 November 2023.
Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Wardle, Heather ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1361-3706 and Reith, Gerda ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6539-0295
(2023)
The ‘Football Fans and Betting’ Project: Challenges and Lessons Learned from an Early Intervention for Male Sports Bettors.
Current Advances in Gambling Research (CAGR 2023), London, UK, 28-29 June 2023.
Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Wardle, Heather ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1361-3706 and Zendle, David
(2022)
Targeting the Next Generation of Gamblers? Gambling Sponsorship of Esports Teams.
Current Advances in Gambling Research (CAGR 2022), Cardiff, UK, 19-20 May 2022.
Biggar, Blair ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164
(2019)
Contesting (In)security: Reflections on the Location of Solidarity in the Everyday Lives of Roma in Scotland.
UAES 2019 Inter-Congress “World Solidarities”, Poznan, Poland, 27-31 August 2019.
Grants
2026-2027 - UKRI Gambling Harm Research and Innovation Partnership
2026 - UKRI Impact Accelerator Award
2024 - SPS Investigator Fellowship
2023 - Glasgow Knowledge Exchange Fund
2022 - Chancellor’s Fund at the University of Glasgow
2021 - Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic
2019 - ESRC Overseas Institutional Visit (OIV)
2019 - Central Eastern European University (CEU)
2018 - Network of Academic Institutions in Romani Studies (NAIRS)
2017 - Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic
2017 - Erasmus+
2016 - Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic
2016-2020 – ESRC studentship
Teaching
Blair currently convenes the Sociology of Consumption and Sociology of Health and Illness. In the past he convened Class and Stratification and Class in Everyday Life. He also lectures on Sociology of Addiction, Substantive Topics in the Sociology of Consumption, and Introduction to Social Theory for Researchers. He has also guest lectured on gambling harms for UoG medicine students. During his PhD, he taught on CEES Level 1a: Central and Eastern Europe in the Age of Stalin and CEES Level 1b: The Collapse of Communism, and guest lectured on the pre-sessional Master’s programme in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures, University of Glasgow.
Blair has additionally delivered invited guest lectures at Justus Liebig University, Giessen, on Material culture of everyday life, and at the University of Córdoba on Public Health Approaches to Gambling.