CHAPTER TWO: AIMS, SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY OF THE CURRENT RESEARCH
Aims and Scope
2.1 The primary aims of this report are to provide a balanced, up-to-date assessment of the evidence base relating to the social impacts of gambling, and particularly casino gambling, both internationally and with specific reference to Scotland. This information will be used to help inform the process of consultation between the Scottish Executive and the Casino Advisory Panel.
2.2 The report covers issues such as:
- the international prevalence of rates of problem gambling,
- factors influencing the prevalence and incidence of problem gambling
- the social impacts of problem gambling, including crime rates and fear of crime, and financial problems, such as bankruptcy and debt
- casino-specific factors
- the relation of gambling to socio-demographic factors, such as social class, gender and ethnicity,
- and the implications of all of these for social exclusion.
2.3 It also outlines research on the nature and effectiveness of various policies that are designed to reduce or prevent any negative social costs that may be associated with gambling, and particularly with casino gambling.
General Research Issues
2.4 Although some data on the social impacts of gambling exists from an international perspective, the evidence base for the U.K., and particularly Scotland, is extremely thin. In addition, much of the available material is methodologically weak and open to interpretation. To tackle this problem, a range of data sources has been consulted to identify the most rigorous studies (see below). In addition, the authors have analysed new data to establish figures for gambling relating to Scotland from the British Gambling Prevalence Survey, which was conducted by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) in 1999.
2.5 This study was the first to examine the prevalence of gambling and problem gambling in Britain. Although it only analysed data at the British level, it has been possible to return to the raw data in the survey and re-analyse it for material relating to Scotland. This material is not publicly available, but the Scottish Centre for Social Research (ScotCen) is part of NatCen, and has access to it. This new analysis allows for the estimation of some figures for gambling relating to Scotland - though it should be emphasised that the size of the Scottish sub-sample (c.750 respondents) limits the scope of this work.
2.6 In addition, the evidence base from the international data has been combined with known demographic features of Scotland utilising data from the Index of Multiple Deprivation and the 2001 Census in order to make some suggestions about the potential social impacts of casino development in Scotland.
2.7 Where information on casinos is not available, literature dealing with gambling in general has been utilised, where it is relevant, to outline trends and issues.
Methodology and Data Sources
2.8 In order to fulfil the requirements of the specification, a comprehensive review has been undertaken of the most up-to-date and relevant literature from a range of sources. They adopted a three-tiered approach to the review, analysing (1) international, (2) U.K., and (3) Scottish data.
These included:
2.9 Peer reviewed articles from specialist sources such as The Journal of Gambling Studies, International Gambling Studies, and the Journal of Gambling Issues. The following databases were also searched, to locate potentially relevant literature:
- Academic Search Premier
- ASSIA
- Bath Information and Data Services ( BIDS)
- Blackwell-Synergy
- Cochrane Library
- CSA Social Services Abstracts
- EBSCO MegaFile Premier
- ProQuest 5000 International
2.10 Commissioned reports of large-scale studies into the impacts of gambling and the prevalence of problem gambling. This includes, for example, the landmark U.S. National Gambling Impact Study Commission review (1999) and the Australian Productivity Commission's Australia's Gambling Industries (1999). It also includes the New Zealand Gaming Survey ( NZGS) (1998-1999) and the National Council's Gambling in Canada (1996). It also include reports on the prevalence rates of gambling and problem gambling in a range of jurisdictions, including the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Norway, Sweden and Great Britain.
2.11 Policy documents and steering papers such as the large-scale, Review of Research on Aspects of Problem Gambling conducted for the Responsibility in Gambling Trust (2004), and the DCMSGambling Review Report (2001).
2.12 Documents held in specialist online libraries Various gambling-related organisations and government departments have websites which include searchable databases and/or libraries, or which detail gambling-related publications and reports. These include:
2.13 Material from gambling treatment agencies, such as GamCare (in the U.K.), and the RCA Trust and Gamblers Anonymous (in Scotland).
2.14 Data from the 1999 British Prevalence Study As outlined above, fresh data from this study has been analysed to provide an overview of patterns of participation in gambling in Scotland.
2.15 Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation This has provided an overview of the areas of greatest deprivation in Scotland which has been mapped on to what is known about the profile of problem gamblers from international research and the evidence from the Prevalence Study.
2.16 One of the report's authors, Gerda Reith, also has access to a substantial personal library on gambling-related subjects, containing 'grey literature' that is not available from mainstream outlets, such as unpublished reports, reviews and discussion papers. This has been drawn on extensively throughout the report.
2.17 The report has also utilised the knowledge base and expertise of specialist forums such as Gambling Issues International, an online discussion group and networking forum, which has 400 members from 17 countries, represented by researchers, clinicians, educators and policy makers. During the course of the review, a query was placed on the discussion board, which led to an ongoing discussion and revealed many sources of new data.