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Gambling has a long pedigree, going back millennia and pervading many cultures and societies. Since the mid-1980s there has been unprecedented growth in commercial gambling and annual global gambling losses were estimated to total $400 billion in 2016 (Bogart, 2011; The data team, 2017). This growth is driven by increasing acceptance of legal gambling, the intersection of gambling and financial technologies, impacts of internet and mobile devices, the spread of gambling to traditionally non-gambling settings and other globalisation forces (Abbott & Volberg, 1999). The interest of governments in increasing revenue played a significant part (Hodgins & Petry, 2016). Although gambling expenditure has levelled off or declined in some jurisdictions, there is strong growth in others, including some of the world’s largest nations. There is also strong growth, globally, in on-line gambling. While now widespread, some societies previously had limited experience of gambling and it remains legally prohibited in some parts of the world (Binde, 2005). Other societies have undergone cycles of liberalisation and restriction going back hundreds of years. Restriction typically arose from rising public concern about escalating gambling-related personal and social harm (Miers, 2004; Rose, 2003).
The epidemiology and impact of gambling disorder and other gambling-related harm
