https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2516-8478
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ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic triggered the closure of licensed casinos throughout the United States of America in March and April 2020. This study sought to examine how Americans who gamble responded to the COVID-19 lockdown, including migration to online gambling, and changes in substance use and use of other technologies. On 9 April 2020, we recruited an online sample of 424 Americans who gambled in the last three months via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Self-reported changes in online gambling and other addictive behaviors since the onset of COVID-19 and problem gambling severity were measured. Overall, online gambling decreased following the onset of COVID-19 casino closures, while alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis use increased. Among respondents who reported no online gambling involvement prior to COVID-19, 15% reported migrating to online gambling. These migrators had higher levels of problem gambling and lower income than respondents who had never gambled online. The response to COVID-19 is heterogeneous: the majority of people who gamble reported reducing their online gambling but increased their substance use. A minority of people who gamble substituted casino gambling with online gambling. Because these individuals are characterized by problem gambling symptoms and lower income, they may be considered a vulnerable group.
Acknowledgements
Authors may include a brief statement to recognise the contributions of individuals who were involved in the research and/or preparation of the manuscript but did not qualify for authorship.
Disclosure statement
SX has received academic fees from Gambling Research Exchange Ontario. HSK has received funding and scholarships from the Alberta Gambling Research Institute and has received academic fees from Gambling Research Exchange Ontario. LC is the Director of the Centre for Gambling Research at UBC, which is supported by funding from the Province of British Columbia and the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC), a Canadian Crown Corporation. The Province of BC government and the BCLC had no role in the design, analysis, or interpretation of the study, and impose no constraints on publishing. LC has received a speaker/travel honorarium from the National Association for Gambling Studies (Australia) and the National Center for Responsible Gaming (US), and has received fees for academic services from the National Center for Responsible Gaming (US), GambleAware (UK), and Gambling Research Exchange Ontario (Canada). He has not received any further direct or indirect payments from the gambling industry or groups substantially funded by gambling. He has received royalties from Cambridge Cognition Ltd. relating to neurocognitive testing. MW has received research funding from Alberta Gambling Research Institute (Canada), British Columbia Lottery Corporation (Canada), Carleton University (Canada), Gambling Research Exchange (Canada), Manitoba Gambling Research Program (Canada), International Center for Responsible Gaming (US), Ontario Lottery and Gaming (Canada), and Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (Canada). MW has received speaker/travel honorarium from Alberta Liquor Gaming Commission (Canada), National Association for Gambling Studies (Australia), the International Center for Responsible Gaming (US), and Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling (US). He has received fees for academic services from Atlantic Lottery and Gaming Corporation (Canada), Gambling Research Exchange (Canada), International Center for Responsible Gaming (US), New South Wales Government (Australia), Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation (Canada), Manitoba Gambling Research Program (Canada), Massachusetts Gambling Commission (US), and Ontario Lottery and Gaming (Canada). MW has also received consulting fees from Alberta Liquor Gaming Commission (Canada), Atlantic Lottery and Gaming Corporation (Canada), British Columbia Lottery Corporation (Canada), GamRes (Canada), Massachusetts Gaming Commission (US), Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation (Canada), and Ontario Lottery and Gaming (Canada).
Data availability statement
The data described in this article are openly available in the Open Science Framework at https://osf.io/py45w/.
Open scholarship
This article has earned the Center for Open Science badges for Open Data and Preregistered. The data and materials are openly accessible at https://osf.io/py45w/.
Correction Statement
This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.
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Notes on contributors
Silas Xuereb
Silas Xuereb is a graduate student at the University of British Columbia focusing on the detrimental effects of inequality. He previously worked and studied at Carleton University.
Hyoun S. Kim
Hyoun S. Kim is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at Ryerson University. His research focuses on the transdiagnostic mechanisms of addictions and their mental health co-morbidities.
Luke Clark
Luke Clark is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of British Columbia, and Director of the Centre for Gambling Research at UBC. His research focusses on the psychological and neural basis of decision-making in gambling and its relevance to the development of gambling harms.
Michael J. A. Wohl
Dr. Michael J. A. Wohl examines factors that lead to excessive play (e.g., erroneous cognitions, craving) and means to increase responsible gambling (e.g., setting a limit on play). Recent research attention has been paid to the effect loyalty program membership can have on (responsible) gambling behavior and means to facilitate behaviour change among disordered gamblers. Wohl has published over 130 peer-reviewed papers, 15 chapter in edited volumes, and 30 technical or government reports.