Gambling addiction: 125,000 at risk of problem gambling in Ireland

Landmark study suggests that more than one in 10 men who have gambled in the last year are either at-risk or problem gamblers. For men aged 15-24 who have gambled in the last year, this figure rises to almost one in five who are at-risk gamblers or problem gamblers.

There are an estimated 12,000 adults in Ireland who are problem gamblers and a further 125,000 people considered to be “at-risk” gamblers, according to a landmark report published on Wednesday.

Furthermore, the study suggests that more than one in 10 men who have gambled in the last year are either at-risk or problem gamblers. For men aged 15-24 who have gambled in the last year, this figure rises to almost one in five who are at-risk gamblers or problem gamblers.

The report from the Health Research Board (HRB) said at-risk and problem gambling “appear to be strongly associated with poorer socioeconomic status” and that people living in deprived areas are those most likely to develop issues with gambling.

Highlighting the lack of specific services for gambling addiction provided by the HSE, this data shows the need for dedicated treatment provision in Ireland for those with gambling problems, it said.

The HRB said it included a set of questions on gambling in its National Drug and Alcohol Survey 2019/20 at the request of the Department of Justice, which is progressing new gambling legislation. This survey provides the only source of general population prevalence data on gambling in Ireland, the HRB added.

Professor Colin O’Gara, a consultant addictions psychiatrist, said: “The study notes that younger males and those in large urban areas may be under-represented in this study. The statistics we see here are really, really concerning.

“This is the first time we’ve data of this magnitude and scale to demonstrate the scale of the prevalence of gambling in this country. There needs to be education and awareness raised on a national scale to counter the proliferation and normalisation of gambling here.” 

A breakdown of the stats 

Almost half of people aged 15+, about 1.9m people, say they gambled in the 12 months prior to the survey, which was taken across 2019 and 2020. This is fewer than the 2.3m reported in 2014/15.

The most common type of gambling was buying a lottery ticket, with 42.4% of the population saying they had done so. A further one fifth of the population say they had placed bets which hadn’t included buying a Lotto ticket.

Some 14% of men, and 4% of women, said they had gambled in a betting shop, while 6.8% of men and 1% of women said they had gambled online.

Men aged between 35 and 49 (60.4%) were most likely to have placed a bet in some form, while one in five men of that age had gone to a betting shop to place a bet.

There were low levels of online gambling among women, while about one in 10 men under the age of 50 said they had bet online.

When it comes to how much people spent betting, those who had bought a lottery ticket or scratch card in person were most likely to have spent €25 or less in the last month (93%).

Those who placed a bet at a horse or greyhound race meeting (31%), those who gambled online or by telephone (31%) or those who gambled in a betting shop (29%) were most likely to have spent more than €25 betting in the last month.

Of those who reported gambling online or by telephone, 7% said they had spent more than €100 on betting in the last month. A further 8.5% who bet at a horse or dog race meeting spent more than €100.

Most people who bet in the last month did so with cash (94.2%), but 12.9% also reported using a credit or debit card while 3% said they had bet through an online bookmaker account.

Problem gambling 

Of those who had gambled in the last year, 4.7% were low-risk gamblers, 1.8% were moderate-risk gamblers, and 0.6% were problem gamblers.

This data was derived by asking people a set of questions relating to controlling gambling, if they bet more than they could afford to lose, were borrowing money for gambling and whether they had any other problems such as health or financial issues arising from their gambling.

Low-risk was defined as those who experienced a “low level of problems” with few or no negative consequences. A problem gambler was a person who dealt with multiple negative consequences and a possible loss of control.

Men were five times more likely than women to be problem gamblers.

Prof O’Gara said even at a “low risk”, this kind of gambling could have a serious impact on their lives.

“There are significant harms here,” he said. “Have you borrowed money to gamble, do you try to win back the money you lost — these are the kinds of questions being asked. The rates of problem gambling here are significant.” 

Men aged 25-34 were most likely to be problem gamblers, with 2.4% of men of this age who’d gambled in the last year considered to be a problem gambler. The rates of problem gambling in Ireland were found to be similar to those found in England, Scotland and Wales, although lower than those found in Northern Ireland.

The report said there was a “marked correlation” between problem gambling and substance use – 13% of those with an alcohol disorder were classified as an at-risk or problem gambler.

Dr Deirdre Mongan, lead author of the report, said: “The report highlights the need to understand both the social and psychological risk factors that lead to problem gambling in order to shape regulatory and public health responses.

“This could include the regulation of access to gambling, the screening of individuals at-risk, and the provision of and greater access to dedicated treatment services.”