Gambling and COVID-19 - Swedish national gambling data from a state-owned gambling sports and casino operator

The lockdown of sports and gambling venues during COVID-19 caused a fear of increased gambling on other online gambling types, with a risk for transfer to more addictive gambling than otherwise. This study aimed to analyze changes in gambling activity during COVID-19-affected periods. This study includes gambling tracking data from the Swedish state-owned gambling operator Svenska Spel Sports & Casino (sports betting, online casino, online bingo, poker). It included all individuals who gambled at least once from 10/02/2020 to 19/07/2020. The study period was divided into four periods, depending on their expected level of COVID-19 impact on gambling opportunities: pre-COVID period, and three COVID-affected periods (sports cancellation, emerging return of sports, substantial return of sports). Mixed models were used to analyze changes in gambling activity for each gambling type and for each period compared to the pre-COVID period. Models were estimated for two weekly gambling variables (wagers and number of gambling days) for each gambling type and adjusted for gender, age and initial gambling involvement (gambled or not during the first three weeks of the study). Results types differed markedly between gambling types. Sports betting followed the pattern of an apparent decrease and a gradual normalization but end levels significantly below pre-pandemic levels. In contrast, online poker and bingo frequency/ intensity increased upon sports lockdown but were not sustainable. Regarding online casino, no significant change was observed. Dramatic changes in the content of the gambling market may divert some gamblers to other gambling types, but maintained effects could not be demonstrated.

An interrupted time series analysis of gambling behavior based on gambling operator revenue-based taxation during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden.

OBJECTIVES: The impact of COVID-19 on gambling behavior and the gambling industry itself has been widely speculated. Prior studies have shown how boredom, social isolation, poor mental health, and financial hardships, all of which have been associated with COVID-19, can aggravate problem gambling behaviors in patients with gambling disorders while also luring newcomers. Few studies have used methods other than self-report to assess longitudinal behavioral changes in gambling behavior before versus during the pandemic. STUDY DESIGN: The present study addresses this gap by using an interrupted time series approach on data obtained from the Swedish Gambling Authority measuring taxation on gambling vendors' revenue between January 2019 and November 2021. METHODS: March, June, and October 2020 were chosen as interruption points as they correspond to the pandemic's commencement, the return of elite sports, and the second wave of cases in Sweden, respectively. We hypothesized that the pandemic would be associated with both temporary changes for select gambling types and long-term increases in online gambling. RESULTS: Results revealed the pandemic's onset was associated with transient effects at each point of interruption, as well as long-term upward trends in total gambling and commercial online gambling, excluding horse betting and the state-owned operator for online casinos and betting. CONCLUSIONS: The present study's findings, although consistent with the theory that gambling activity could increase during the pandemic, contradict previous studies that found no changes or a decrease from pre-COVID-19 levels. Findings indicate that the pandemic and Sweden's reaction to it were associated with increased use of some gambling products.