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Moving on from responsible gambling: a new discourse is needed to prevent and minimise harm from gambling

journal contribution
posted on 2020-07-01, 00:00 authored by C Livingstone, Angela Rintoul
Objectives
To address the current status of responsible gambling (RG) as the dominant discourse for reducing gambling harm.

Study design
The article is a narrative review of relevant literature analysed discursively.

Methods
We identified significant texts describing the discourse of RG and analysed these to extract major characteristics and themes of the discourse. These were then subjected to a critique, using the public health discourses as an alternative system for addressing gambling harm.

Results
The discourse of RG is inadequate for preventing or minimising gambling harm. A public health–focused approach to prevent and minimise gambling harm is likely to be far more effective but will be opposed by vested interests.
Conclusions
It is timely to consider abandoning the discourse of RG. This discourse has been discredited because of its complicity with vested interests and a lack of evidence to demonstrate its efficacy in preventing or reducing harm. A public health response to the prevention of gambling harm is feasible and practical and can and should be further developed and implemented rapidly.

History

Journal

Public Health

Volume

184

Pagination

107 - 112

Publisher

Elsevier

Location

Oxford, Eng.

ISSN

0033-3506

eISSN

1476-5616

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2020, Royal Society for Public Health

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