An in-depth study of British gambling habits is to be undertaken at Glasgow University, facilitated by access to funding from the Economic and Social Research Council. Last weekend the running of the Grand National at Aintree prompted Britons to bet more than on any other day of the year, perhaps appropriate timing for the announcement of the 3-year project to research the motivation for gambling.

With the new Gambling Act 2005 coming into force, an already changing climate of gambling in Britain will make further options available. Online gambling has already altered the way many people gamble, from betting exchanges to poker sites, and 17 casino licences including one for a Las Vegas style complex will put more slot machines into the market. One area the study will examine is gambling addiction.

According to researcher Dr Gerda Reith, surprisingly little is known about the motivations for gambling. The industry would maintain that it is a form of entertainment; the anti-gambling lobby insists that it is an activity too risky to allow responsible adults to decide for themselves. The Government has had to abandon casino limitation by market forces and adopt restricted development pending social impact studies.

The Glasgow University study may go some way towards clarifying why people gamble. The socio-economic status, ethnicity, gender and education of gamblers will be examined, as well as personal characteristics and lifestyles. Over the years there have been innumerable research projects into gambling and gambling addiction, and it is hard to imagine that British gamblers are radically different from those elsewhere. However, the study should produce an interesting profile of the modern British gambler. (E-04.10.06)

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