- Title
- Regulatory resistance? Narratives and uses of evidence around “black market” provision of gambling during the british gambling act review
- Creator
- Wardle, Heather; Reith, Gerda; Dobbie, Fiona; Rintoul, Angela; Shiffman, Jeremy
- Date
- 2021
- Type
- Text; Journal article; Review
- Identifier
- http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/180585
- Identifier
- vital:15794
- Identifier
-
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111566
- Identifier
- ISBN:1661-7827 (ISSN)
- Abstract
- Commercial gambling is increasingly viewed as being part of the unhealthy commodities industries, in which products contribute to preventable ill-health globally. Britain has one of the world’s most liberal gambling markets, meaning that the regulatory changes there have implications for developments elsewhere. A review of the British Gambling Act 2005 is underway. This has generated a range of actions by the industry, including mobilising arguments around the threat of the “black market”. We critically explore industry’s framing of these issues as part of their strategy to resist regulatory change during the Gambling Act review. We used a predefined review protocol to explore industry narratives about the “black market” in media reports published between 8 December 2020 and 26 May 2021. Fifty-five articles were identified and reviewed, and themes were narratively synthesised to examine industry framing of the “black market”. The black market was framed in terms of economic threat and loss, and a direct connection was made between its growth and increased regulation. The articles mainly presented gambling industry perspectives uncritically, citing industry-generated evidence (n = 40). Industry narratives around the “black market” speak to economically and emotionally salient concerns: fear, safety, consumer freedom and economic growth. This dominant framing in political, mainstream and industry media may influence political and public opinion to support the current status quo: “protecting” the existing regulated market rather than “protecting” people. Debates should be reframed to consider all policy options, especially those designed to protect public health. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
- Publisher
- MDPI
- Relation
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol. 18, no. 21 (2021), p.
- Rights
- All metadata describing materials held in, or linked to, the repository is freely available under a CC0 licence
- Rights
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
- Rights
- Copyright © 2021 by the authors
- Rights
- Open Access
- Subject
- MD Multidisciplinary; Black market; Gambling; Gambling Act review; Great Britain; Regulation; Unhealthy commodities
- Full Text
- Reviewed
- Funder
- In the last three years, H.W., F.D. and G.R. worked on one project respectively funded by GambleAware. Between 2015 and 2020, H.W. was Deputy Chair of the Advisory Board for Safer Gambling, providing independent advice to government on gambling policy. Remuneration was provided by the regulator (the Gambling Commission). H.W. has been funded for travel by the Turkish Green Crescent Society and Alberta Gambling Research Institute. H.W. runs a research consultancy for public and third sector organisations. She does not and has not provided services to the gambling industry. A.R. has no competing financial interests to declare. She has been employed on grants funded by the Australian Research Council and the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation. She was previously employed by the Australian Institute of Family Studies and has received research funding from the Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety and the Australian Commonwealth Department of Social Services. A.R. has received travel funding from the Turkish Green Crescent Society, Monash University and the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust. G.R. has received honoraria from the Gambling Research Exchange Ontario, Alberta Gambling Research Institute and the UK Gambling Commission.
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