Problem Gambling in Europe Challenges, Prevention, and Interventions Edited by Gerhard Meyer, University of Bremen, Germany Tobias Hayer, University of Bremen, Germany Mark Griffiths, Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom As a leisure activity, gambling dates back to ancient times. More recently, the surge in avenues for gambling—casinos, sports betting, lotteries, and remote media (e.g.,Internet, mobile phone, interactive television) among them—finds growing numbers of people losing control over their gambling behaviour, usually at great personal and financial expense. Problem Gambling in Europe is the first book to offer a robust international knowledge base compiled by an interdisciplinary panel of researchers in gambling behaviour. Reports from 21 countries throughout Western, Eastern, Northern, and Southern Europe reveal wide variations in types of wagering activities, participation by populations, social and criminal consequences related to pathological gambling, the extent to which governments acknowledge the problem, and efforts to control it (often with the involvement of the gaming industries). For each country, noted experts discuss: Current legislation regulating gambling. Forms of gambling and their addictive potential. Participation rates and demographics. Prevalence of pathological gambling. National policies to address problem gambling. Prevention strategies and treatment methods. Problem Gambling in Europe brings insight and clarity to a widespread and complex phenomenon, and will be of considerable interest to all parties working to reduce their negative effects: social science researchers in addictions, gambling behaviour, and public health; clinical, social, and health psychologists and psychiatrists; treatment practitioners; the gaming industry; regulators; and policy makers.

Since the emergence of the internet in the 1990s, an increasing number of gambling services have come available on-line or through other new remote communications technologies. The rapid technological advancements, commercial initiatives, and market penetration of such commerce have made this sector of the gambling services industries extremely dynamic and potentially transformative in the years ahead. Demand for gambling services in the early 21 century and for the past half-century in the European Union – as well as in most other parts of the world – has been and is expanding rapidly, for a number of reasons. The commercial and government owned gaming industries of the European Union are organized under a wide variety of ownership regimes and market structures. Ownership and market structures are affected by numerous factors, including Member State laws and regulations; restrictions on product types, characteristics, points of sale, availability, and marketing effort; economies of scale; network effects; and impacts of new technologies. The overall gambling market in Europe is growing, both land-based and online. Lotteries and gambling machines remain the biggest sectors in the overall gambling market. While not all EU Member States have a legal definition of the concepts of “games of chance” and of “gambling”, in most jurisdictions a game of chance is defined as a game that offers an opportunity to compete for prizes, where success depends completely or predominantly on coincidence or an unknown future result and cannot be influenced by the player. At least one of the players loses his or her stake. The first important element characterising a game of chance is that of stake money or monetary value. The second essential characteristic of a game of chance is the element of chance. Success or loss must depend completely or predominantly on coincidence and not on abilities and knowledge. Success is considered to depend in any case on coincidence, if the relevant aspect is the occurrence of an uncertain event. The section Gambling in Europe includes several independent adaptations of the corresponding European Commission works, free to use and freely available via the EU website with © European Union, and translation of the European Commission works with © Nico9lae Sfetcu, the author of this book. Most of the work are published by the European Union during 2004 - 2008, so it is possible to be outdated.

Using a public interest framework, epidemiological evidence, and an international approach, Setting Limits discusses gambling policies that will best serve the public good and minimise harm. Essential reading for policymakers and all those working in gambling research.

This book analyses the voluminous and meandering case law on gambling of the Court of Justice from an empirical perspective. It offers a comprehensive overview of the legal situation of gambling services in the EU Single Market. Additionally, the book presents the current state of research on gambling addiction. It then seeks to answer the central research question as to what extent the views of the Court of Justice on gambling find support in empirical evidence. The Court of Justice granted exceptionally wide discretion to the Member States due to a so-called ‘peculiar nature’ of games of chance. With the margin of appreciation having played a key role, the book inquires whether the Court of Justice followed the principles and criteria that normally steer the use of this doctrine. Noting the Court’s special approach, the book elaborates on its causes and consequences. Throughout the book, the approach of the Court of Justice is contrasted with that of its sister court, the EFTA Court. Finally, the potential role of the precautionary principle and of EU fundamental rights in the area of gambling law is examined. Situated at the intersection of law and science, this book seeks to bridge the legal and scientific perspectives and the unique vocabularies common to each. It illustrates the direct relevance of science and empirical research for court cases and policy making. And it contrasts science-informed policy making with the on-going morality discourse on gambling.

Since the 1990s the European Court of Justice has provided an institutional backdrop from which the requirements of EU law regarding gambling regulation are evolving. Given the total absence of harmonisation, Member States are competent to regulate gambling conditional upon such regulation being compatible with EU law. This book analyses the regulatory approaches undertaken in France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom regarding a variety of forms of online and offline gambling with a view to assessing the compatibility of these approaches. Furthermore it illustrates prevailing commonalities between the regimes and injects a degree of realism into the debate, softening the hard stance taken by stakeholders at opposite ends of the policy spectrum.

This book provides an overview of the state of the art in research on and treatment of gambling disorder. As a behavioral addiction, gambling disorder is of increasing relevance to the field of mental health. Research conducted in the last decade has yielded valuable new insights into the characteristics and etiology of gambling disorder, as well as effective treatment strategies. The different chapters of this book present detailed information on the general concept of addiction as applied to gambling, the clinical characteristics, epidemiology and comorbidities of gambling disorder, as well as typical cognitive distortions found in patients with gambling disorder. In addition, the book includes chapters discussing animal models and the genetic and neurobiological underpinnings of the disorder. Further, it is examining treatment options including pharmacological and psychological intervention methods, as well as innovative new treatment approaches. The book also discusses relevant similarities to and differences with substance-related disorders and other behavioral addictions. Lastly, it examines gambling behavior from a cultural perspective, considers possible prevention strategies and outlines future perspectives in the field.

Mark Griffiths has carried out extensive research into why some adolescents get hooked on gambling, how they gamble and what can be done about it. In this book he provides an overview of adolescent gambling worldwide.