Gambling, exacerbated by rapid global expansion and digital transformation in its industry, poses serious threat to public health than governments realized.

This was the conclusion in a study conducted by the new Lancet Public Health Commission on gambling that recommended stronger regulatory congrols to reduce the impact of commercial gambling on public health.

“Most people think of a traditional Las Vegas casino or buying a lottery ticket when they think of gambling. They don’t think of large technology companies deploying a variety of techniques to get more people to engage more frequently with a commodity that can pose substantial risks to health, but this is the reality of gambling today,” said Professor Heather Wardle, co-chair of the Commission from University of Glasgow.

She noted that many gambling forms are easily accessed with a mobile phone, making it appear that individuals have “a casino in their pocket, 24 hours a day.

“Highly sophisticated marketing and technology make it easier to start, and harder to stop gambling, and many products now use design mechanics to encourage repeated and longer engagement,” Wardle said.

According to the Commission a a systematic review and meta-analysis tit conducted indicate that approximately 448·7 million adults worldwide experience any risk gambling.

Such include individuals that experience at least one behavioural symptom or adverse personal, social or health consequence of gambling.

“Of these, an estimated 80 million adults experience gambling disorder or problematic gambling [1]. These estimates are likely to be conservative,” said the commission.

Based on its new analysis, the Commission also estimates that Tt gambling disorder could affect 15·8% of the adults and 26·4% of the adolescents who gamble using online casino or slot products, and 8·9% of the adults and 16·3% of the adolescents who gamble using sports betting products.

“Online casino and online sports betting are two of the most rapidly expanding areas for commercial gambling globally,” the Commission noted.

According to Dr Kristiana Siste, a Commissioner from the Universitas Indonesia, said: “We need to take action to protect children from the harms of gambling. We know that early exposure to gambling increases the risk of developing gambling disorders later in life, and children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to the allure of easy money and the game-like designs of online gambling.”

For his part, Professor Malcolm Sparrow, Commissioner from Harvard Kennedy School, there is an urgent need for increased regulation of gambling.

“While the industry continues to promote gambling as harmless entertainment, countries and communities are experiencing rapidly increasing threats from gambling harms,” said Sparrow.

He stated: “The Commission urges policy makers to treat gambling as a public health issue, just as we treat other addictive and unhealthy commodities such as alcohol and tobacco. We call for policy makers to make protection from gambling-related harms the primary and dominant regulatory focus, and to insulate the policy making process more effectively from industry influence.”