Investigating the influences and drivers of gambling participation and associated harms

Gambling participation has expanded significantly in recent decades, driven by digital platforms, targeted marketing, and shifting social norms (Wardle et al., 2024). The increased availability and accessibility to gambling activities  has raised health concerns from different international reviews due to it the negative consequences on individuals, families and communities (Bano et al., 2021; Price et al., 2021). Research shows that gambling is influenced by psychological, social, cultural, and structural factors  (Glozah et al., 2023). The influence of some of these factors have been extensively documented by previous research (Salonen et al., 2018; Calado et al., 2024; Adebisi et al., 2021) , but influences of some other dimensions including gender, advertisement and religiosity still require adequate attention. Importantly, there is dearth in literature that investigates the interaction between these factors and the several pathways by which they influence gambling participation and associated harms.

For instance, Research also indicates gendered differences in responses to gambling cues and in vulnerability to harms (Díaz et al., 2023; Collard et al., 2022) , yet gender remains underexplored as a central analytical lens within gambling and advertising research. Likewise, religiosity may reduce gambling involvement (Calado et al., 2024), but  its relationship with cognitive factors such as beliefs about luck, belief, culture  or divine control shows mixed findings, revealing a need for clearer understanding of how religious identity shapes gambling participation.  Some key research questions include

1.How do individuals of different genders interpret and respond to gambling advertising?
2.How do gendered social norms influence individuals’ responses to gambling marketing, and how do these responses contribute to differing levels of harm across genders?
3.Does religiosity reduce susceptibility to gambling ads, or does it interact with cognitive distortions that increase participation?

These questions are not exhaustive and we welcome ideas across these themes and intersectional dimensions. In addition, we also welcome topics across different context including Sub-Saharan Africa. We welcome single/multiple country study, comparative analysis across different context. Proposed methodological underpinnings  could cut across qualitative, quantitative and mixed method approaches.

Supervisors

Oluwole Adeniyi