This report presents a rapid review of research literature to examine the effects of cashless gaming from a gambling harm-minimisation perspective. Cashless gaming involves the use of non-cash gaming tokens for land-based gambling.

The specific objectives were to:

• examine the national and international context of cashless payments,
• explore the possible effects of cashless gaming as identified in research literature, and
• identify recent jurisdictional developments in cashless gaming due to COVID-19.

The study explores whether, and to what extent, significant others may be impacted by another person's gambling.  Using the Personal Wellbeing Index, data from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey (HILDA) and the Canadian Quinte Longitudinal Study (QLS) were analysed to measure the subjective well-being of participants.

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has stated that consumers are supportive of its decision to prohibit the use of credit cards for gambling payments, following the results of a recent report.

The UKGC report notes that the Commission are:

• satisfied that the ban on gambling with credit cards has been successfully implemented,

• confident that the initial impact on financial and gambling behaviours has been positive,

• mindful of the importance of continuing to monitor behaviours – especially since lockdown restrictions have been lifted, and

• welcoming of the further evaluation activity to be conducted by NatCen, which will consider the longer-term impacts of the ban on both financial and gambling behaviours.

This research undertakes both a quantitative and qualitative investigation into the behaviour and perspectives of LGBTIQ+ communities in relation to gambling. 

This research aims to broaden the understanding of the gambling attitudes and behaviours of people with a disability, and their risk of gambling related harm.

This study examines the help-seeking experiences of those who present to services with both gambling-related harms and other mental health conditions. 

It further seeks to explore an evidence-based framework that may assist individuals with a lived experience of gambling harm in prevention activities.

Key facts:

• Overall participation in any gambling activity has remained stable at 42%.
• The online gambling participation rate is 25%, whilst in person participation is down to 24%. 
• The overall problem gambling rate has decreased significantly to 0.3%, compared to 0.6% in year to September 2020.
• The moderate risk rate has also decreased significantly to 0.7% compared to 1.2% in year to September 2020.

A two-year gambling study, funded by Gambling Research Australia, has found more Australians than ever are using their phone to gamble, with the number of online gamblers doubling in the past decade.

The Second National Study of Interactive Gambling in Australia surveyed more than 15,000 Australians. The authors found that 17.5% of adults had gambled online in 2019, up from 8.1% in 2010. The study also found that overall gambling participation decreased from 64.3% in 2010, to 56.9% in 2019.

Australia’s most popular forms of online gambling were lotteries (10.1% of adults), race betting (5.9%) and sports betting (5.8%).

An effective prevention and education plan draws upon evidence of successful initiatives to prevent gambling harm from occurring. It also incorporates learnings from harm prevention and education activities shown to be less helpful or that may lead to unintended consequences and should be avoided. 

Selected evidence highlights are presented in the sections of the report. Readers are encouraged to review the evidence-based guidance and research priorities for developing an effective gambling harm prevention and education plan, which are provided in each chapter.

The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) have published Lower Risk Gambling Guidelines. The guidelines, which are the culmination of over five years of  research provide advice to consumers about how to gamble in a lower-risk way.

The report provides a summary of the development of the Lower-Risk Gambling Guidelines (LRGGs) and the associated key findings. It outlines the recommendations for quantitative limits for gambling, as well as information about special risk populations and the contextual factors associated with gambling.