Il gioco problematico in Europa : una rassegna della letteratura empirica (2000-2016)

Problem gambling has been identified as an emergent public health issue, and there is a need to identify gambling trends and to regularly update worldwide gambling prevalence rates. This paper reviews recent research on adult gambling and problem gambling in Europe (2000-2016). A systematic literature search was carried out using some academic databases, Internet and governmental websites. Following this search and utilizing exclusion criteria, 46 studies on adult gambling prevalence in Europe were identified. These studies demonstrated that there are wide variations in past-year problem gambling rates across different countries in Europe (0.12% to 3.4%). However, it is difficult to directly compare studies due to different methodological procedures, instruments, cut-offs, and time frames. Despite the variability among instruments, some consistent results with regard to demographics were found.

Findings highlight the need for continuing monitoring problem gambling prevalence rates in Europe in order to examine the influence of cultural context on gambling patterns, assess the effectiveness of policies on gambling related harms and establish priorities for future research. [Publishers' text].