Abstract
Gambling has significant costs to the community, with a health burden similar in scale to major depression. To reduce its impact, it is necessary to understand factors that may exacerbate harm from gambling. The gambling environment of late-night licensed venues and 24/7 online gambling has the potential to negatively impact sleep and increase alcohol consumption. This study explored gambling, alcohol, and sleep problems to understand whether there is a relationship between these three factors. Telephone interviews were conducted with a representative sample of Australian adults (n = 3760) combined across three waves of the National Social Survey. Participants completed screening measures for at-risk gambling, at-risk alcohol consumption, insomnia (2015 wave only), and sleep quality. There were small but significant positive correlations between problem gambling and alcohol misuse, problem gambling and insomnia, and problem gambling and poor sleep quality. A regression model showed that gambling problems and alcohol misuse were significant independent predictors of insomnia. A separate regression showed gambling problems (and not alcohol misuse) were a significant predictor of poor sleep quality, but only in one survey wave. Findings suggest that gambling, alcohol, and sleep problems are related within persons. Further research should examine the mechanisms through which this relationship exists.
Highlights
Gambling is a popular leisure activity that is accessed in many countries, across the Western world [1,2,3,4]
The response rate was between 26% and 35%, which aligns with comparable national telephone surveys at the time [51]
Few studies have examined the relationship between gambling, alcohol consumption, and sleep problems, despite the evidence that these latter factors negatively impact health and are likely to be exacerbated by the current gambling environment [8,9]
Summary
Gambling is a popular leisure activity that is accessed in many countries, across the Western world [1,2,3,4]. Despite its legality and its continuing proliferation, attendant gambling harms have been associated with a reduction in healthrelated quality of life [5]. Recent research has highlighted the pervasiveness of harm from gambling across many aspects of people’s lives, including familial relationships, psychological well-being, and education [6,7]. To reduce the negative impact of gambling, it is necessary to understand the factors, or combinations of factors, that may exacerbate or contribute to the risk of experiencing gambling harm. One such combination of factors is alcohol consumption—
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