(NewsNation) — The odds are in: Gambling is bad for your health, an international group of health experts contend.
Researchers from various disciplines, including gambling studies, public health, global health policy and others, convened to study the harms gambling may cause. The Lancet Public Health Commission concluded that “gambling poses a threat to public health” and called for stricter industry regulation.
Expanding digital access has led to a massive growth in gambling between in-app gaming features and online sports betting.
“The distinction between gaming and gambling has also been blurred,” the commission wrote in the Lancet Public Health Journal on Oct. 24. “Gambling features have now been incorporated into online games, further exposing children and adolescents to gambling and gambling-like activities.”
They defined gambling as “the staking or risking of money or something of material value on an event that has an uncertain outcome in the hope of winning additional money or material goods.”
The practice can be addictive, and some people are diagnosed with an American Psychiatric Association-recognized disorder. Gambling in excess can increase risks of suicide and domestic violence, along with financial consequences, the researchers said.
“Stakeholders in the commercial gambling ecosystem deploy a range of strategies, many of which are similar to those used by other industries selling potentially addictive or health-harming products,” the experts said.
Favorite pastimes like watching sports and routine democratic processes like the presidential election have become a part of the wagering.
In the U.S., commercial gaming revenue reached nearly $47 million through the first eight months of this year, according to the American Gaming Association. This marked the industry’s 42nd consecutive month of annual growth.
The industry adds employment opportunities and is a driving economic force in some places like Las Vegas, for example. The revenue it generates provides a means for governments to generate income and supplement general tax revenues.
Still, the Lancet Public Health Commission calls for international regulations with increased levels of research.
“Governments supporting the expansion of commercial gambling rarely acknowledge the potentially regressive inequities in the generation of gambling revenues and tend to overlook how the growth of gambling might exacerbate social inequity by generating corporate profits at the expense of individuals most likely to experience harm,” they said.