Abstract
The negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy has raised concerns about negative coping behaviours to offset financial losses. We used a subset of a longitudinal study of UK adults (N = 19,963) to examine a range of predictors of (i) gambling during the first strict lockdown, (ii) gambling more frequently during this strict lockdown compared to before lockdown, and (iii) continued increased frequency of gambling during the relaxation of restrictions. Results from logistic regressions indicated that amongst other factors, those with progressively lower levels of education, were stressed due to boredom, frequently drank alcohol, and had high risk-taking tendencies were more likely to gamble during strict lockdown. Individuals who were more likely to have increased their frequency of gambling during strict lockdown compared to before the lockdown were stressed by boredom, employed, frequently drank alcohol, and had depression and anxiety, whilst men and current smokers were less likely. As lockdown restrictions eased, individuals of ethnic minority backgrounds, who were current smokers, and with lower educational attainment were more likely to continue gambling more than usual. Findings contribute to knowledge of who is most at risk for increasing their gambling during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Highlights
In early 2020 a national lockdown order was issued in the United Kingdom (UK) to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and protect healthcare services
Of those who had participated in any gambling behaviour at baseline, 79.4% said there was no change in the frequency of gambling during strict lockdown (March to the first week of June 2020) compared to before lockdown, while 11.4% had decreased their gambling, and 9.2.% had increased their gambling frequency
Using longitudinal data from a large sample of UK adults, we found that several factors related to gambling behaviour and to changes in the frequency of gambling behaviour over time as the pandemic progressed
Summary
In early 2020 a national lockdown order was issued in the United Kingdom (UK) to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and protect healthcare services. Those who had tested positive or were showing symptoms were required to completely self-isolate from others, while those potentially exposed to the virus were ordered to quarantine. Evidence from previous financial crises have shown increases in gambling participation, and those using gambling as a coping strategy were eight times more likely to exhibit problem gambling compared to more stable economic circumstances (Economou et al, 2019; Olason et al, 2015)
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