Landmark research exposes gambling emergency in RoI

Almost a million people in Ireland show some evidence of problem gambling, a new survey has revealed.

Research by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) estimates that 3.3 per cent of the resident adult population in Ireland are problem gamblers.

A further 22.1 per cent suffer from at least “one negative experience or behaviour” associated with gambling.

Statistics

ESRI stated that the percentage of problem gamblers – equating to 1 in 30 adults, or 130,000 people – “is more than ten times higher than previous estimates of PG in Ireland”.

Researchers calculated “a total annual spend on gambling by the adult Irish population of €5.5 billion”, with the most popular forms of gambling being lotteries and scratch cards.

Less than ten per cent of the respondents to the anonymous online survey told the ESRI they believed gambling was good for society.

This is an industry that can cause huge amounts of personal damage to families

‘Serious addiction’

Professor Colin O’Gara, consultant psychiatrist and head of addiction services at St John of God Hospital in Blackrock, described the situation as a “public health emergency” and expressed his hope that the findings would “make people sit up and listen”.

“The reality is people are affected by gambling in a much more substantial way than we think.”

Justice Minister James Browne, who is taking the lead on the Government’s Gambling Regulation Bill 2022, said the research revealed the extent of a “very serious addiction”.

He told RTÉ Radio: “This is an industry that can cause huge amounts of personal damage to families that can absolutely be destroyed and that needs to be recognised”.

Teenagers

Statistics recently published by the Institute of Public Health (IPH) and Tobacco Free Research Institute show that 23 per cent of 16-year-olds in Ireland have gambled for money.

Results from the Europe-wide survey, conducted by the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs, also found that six per cent met the criteria for problem gambling.

IPH’s Ciara Reynolds said: “The report highlights the need for further research on children and gambling in national surveys to build on our evidence and produce more focused approaches to protect children from gambling-related harm.”