Problem Gambling Within The Context of Poverty: A Scoping Review

Researchers synthesized findings of 27 studies, spanning several national contexts on prevalence of problem gambling and associations of it with poverty.

Qualitative Data

• The burden of gambling problems is felt more strongly among people who experience poverty.
• Findings indicated that gambling problems were associated with several poverty measures including employment/unemployment, housing instability, homelessness, low income, and neighborhood disadvantage.

Risk Factors

• Employment/unemployment,
• Housing instability,
• Homelessness,
• Low income, and
• Neighborhood disadvantage

Identified Conclusions

• Relatively few studies explored the connection between poverty and gambling problems despite higher prevalence of gambling problems in this population.
• Further research should explore pathways to gambling problems and poverty and also the associative nature and temporal sequencing of the two phenomena.

Identified Recommendations

• Global awareness on the topic from a research and clinical/community service perspective is necessary.