Dr Blair Biggar

  • Research Associate, Lecturer (Sociological & Cultural Studies)
  • Associate (School of Health & Wellbeing)

Biography

Dr Blair Biggar is currently a Lecturer and Research Associate in the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Glasgow. He contributes to undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and supervision, while also working across interdisciplinary research projects focused on gambling, health, and social inequalities (with a particular interest in gender).

Blair is affiliated with the School of Health and Wellbeing as an Associate and serves as a convenor for Glasgow’s Social Scientists in Health Group. He is an active member of several research collectives, including Gambling Research Glasgow, the Migration and Mobilities research group, and the Academic Forum for the Study of Gambling (AFSG).

Since completing his PhD in Central and Eastern European Studies in 2022—on the "lived citizenship" experiences of EU Roma migrants in Scotland—he has worked as a Research Associate on several projects, including Football Fans and Betting (FFAB), the Lancet Public Health Commission on Gambling, and Words Matter: A language guide for reporting on gambling.

Blair has published his work in peer-reviewed journals, book chapters, and reports, with several outputs currently under peer review. Blair regularly engages with the media to share his research, with invitations from The Guardian, BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio Scotland, and BBC Scotland’s The Nine. He is also an invited peer reviewer for academic journals and funding applications.

Research interests

Gambling Studies

Citizenship, inequalities, and everyday life

Migration Studies

Qualitative research

Research groups

Publications

List by: Type | Date

Jump to: 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2019
Number of items: 15.

2025

Champion, Hannah, Biggar, Blair ORCID logoORCID: 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)

Biggar, B. et al. (2025) 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. OSF Preprints, (doi: 10.31219/osf.io/wt2yc_v1)

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 logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Reith, Gerda ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6539-0295 and Wardle, Heather ORCID logoORCID: 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 logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164 and Wardle, Heather ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1361-3706 (2024) Words Matter: A Language Guide for Respectful Reporting on Gambling. Documentation. University of Glasgow, Glasgow.

2023

Biggar, Blair ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Wardle, Heather ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1361-3706 and Reith, Gerda ORCID logoORCID: 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 logoORCID: 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 logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Wardle, Heather ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1361-3706 and Reith, Gerda ORCID logoORCID: 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 logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Kesaite, Viktorija, Ukhova, Daria ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9554-8604 and Wardle, Heather ORCID logoORCID: 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 logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Reith, Gerda ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6539-0295 and Wardle, Heather ORCID logoORCID: 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 logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Zendle, David and Wardle, Heather ORCID logoORCID: 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 logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Wardle, Heather ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1361-3706 and Reith, Gerda ORCID logoORCID: 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 logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Wardle, Heather ORCID logoORCID: 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 logoORCID: 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 logoORCID: 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.

This list was generated on Sat Jul 5 01:31:40 2025 BST.
Jump to: Articles | Book Sections | Book Reviews | Research Reports or Papers | Conference or Workshop Item
Number of items: 15.

Articles

Champion, Hannah, Biggar, Blair ORCID logoORCID: 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)

Biggar, B. et al. (2025) 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. OSF Preprints, (doi: 10.31219/osf.io/wt2yc_v1)

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 logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Reith, Gerda ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6539-0295 and Wardle, Heather ORCID logoORCID: 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 logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Zendle, David and Wardle, Heather ORCID logoORCID: 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 logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Kesaite, Viktorija, Ukhova, Daria ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9554-8604 and Wardle, Heather ORCID logoORCID: 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 logoORCID: 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

Biggar, Blair ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164 and Wardle, Heather ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1361-3706 (2024) Words Matter: A Language Guide for Respectful Reporting on Gambling. Documentation. University of Glasgow, Glasgow.

Conference or Workshop Item

Biggar, Blair ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Reith, Gerda ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6539-0295 and Wardle, Heather ORCID logoORCID: 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 logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Wardle, Heather ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1361-3706 and Reith, Gerda ORCID logoORCID: 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 logoORCID: 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 logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Wardle, Heather ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1361-3706 and Reith, Gerda ORCID logoORCID: 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 logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Wardle, Heather ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1361-3706 and Reith, Gerda ORCID logoORCID: 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 logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-0164, Wardle, Heather ORCID logoORCID: 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 logoORCID: 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.

This list was generated on Sat Jul 5 01:31:40 2025 BST.

Grants

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

Lecture and course design

Since 2024, Blair has contributed to the Honours course Substantive Topics in the Sociology of Consumption and Introduction To Social Theory For Researchers in the School of Social and Political Sciences, The University of Glasgow.

Since 2023, Blair has contributed to the Honours course Sociology of Addiction in the School of Social and Political Sciences, The University of Glasgow.

Guest Lectures 

In 2019, Blair gave a guest lecture at Justus Liebig University (JLU) Giessen, Germany on "Materiality of everyday life and the reproduction of social relations" as part of the course “Material culture of everyday life”.

In 2018 and 2019, Blair gave guest lectures at the University of Glasgow as part of the pre-sessional Master's course within the School of Modern Languages and Cultures, The University of Glasgow.

Teaching

Between 2018-2022, Blair taught on CEES Level 1a: Central and Eastern Europe in the age of Stalin and CEES Level 1b: The Collapse of Communism in the department of Central and Eastern European Studies within the School of Modern Languages and Cultures, The University of Glasgow.