Gambling is a form of entertainment but for many people and their families, it can become harmful. Taking a public health perspective, gambling harm is a significant social, economic, and health issue.
The Gambling Act 2003 defines gambling harm as ‘harm or distress of any kind arising from, or caused or exacerbated by, a person’s gambling’. This ‘includes personal, social, or economic harm suffered by the person, by the person’s spouse, civil union partner, de facto partner, family, whānau, or wider community, or in the workplace, or by society at large’.
Gambling harm is multifaceted and isn't limited to just people who gamble. The types of harm and the severity of those harms can vary between gamblers and their affected others. Harm may include damage to relationships, emotional and psychological distress, disruptions to work or study, loss of income, the financial cost of gambling, and fraud and related crimes. Gambling harm also includes the negative impact on the gambling person’s family, whānau and community.
About one in five people in New Zealand experiences harm in their lifetime due to their own or someone else’s gambling (see Gambling Report: Results from the 2016 Health and Lifestyles Survey). The 2020 Health and lifestyles Survey estimates that in 2020, some 184,000 people aged 16 years or older were at some degree of risk of harm from gambling. About 183,000 adults reported second-hand gambling harm in their wider families or households (see Results from the Health and Lifestyles Survey 2020).
Although it is difficult to predict and measure gambling harm, there are two commonly used tools for assessing levels of risk and harm.
- The Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) (described by the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse in their 2001 publication, The Canadian Problem Gambling Index). The PGSI identifies levels of gambling risk as reported by individuals and is commonly used to screen and categorise four levels of risk: No-risk (or non-problem gambling), low risk, moderate risk and severe or high risk (problem gambling).
- The Short Gambling Harm Screen (SGHS) (see Validation of the Short Gambling Harm Screen (SGHS): A Tool for Assessment of Harms from Gambling). The SGHS provides a sensitive and valid measure of gambling harm at individual and population levels. The SGHS was informed by research that measured the burden of gambling harm in New Zealand. See Measuring the Burden of Gambling Harm in New Zealand for more information.