Gambling policy

The recognition that gambling could be as much an addiction as drug addiction was a central part of the idea of Excessive Appetites I was developing in the 1970s and early 80s. As awareness of gambling problems grew in the 1990s and the idea of non-drug addictions (inappropriately referred to sometimes as ‘behavioural addictions’, since all addictions are behavioural) took hold, I devoted more time to gambling which has become a major interest since.

I served as academic advisor for the series of three British Gambling Prevalence Studies, 1999, 2007 and 2010; first authored Gambling and Problem Gambling in Britain (2003) and published An Unsafe Bet? The Dangerous Rise of Gambling and the Debate We Should Be Having (2011). In the last 20 years I have been a contributor to national debate on reforming the regulations governing gambling in Britain: by giving radio and TV interviews on the subject; providing evidence to several Government Review Groups, All Party Parliamentary Groups and Select Committees on the subject; and starting a website, now superseded by this part of this website.