Reacción a "Commission warns of health impacts of gambling, calls for tougher regulation"

First of all, it should be noted that this is not a study. It is a working group in which various experts in gambling studies come together and highlight the need to address gambling from a public health perspective.

In support of this position, they present arguments from different approaches, drawing on previous research and first-hand accounts from people who have suffered from the harms associated with gambling. The social perspective they advocate at a global level is based on the increasing expansion of the gambling market thanks to digitalisation. Universal access to gambling requires a public and collective approach, in contrast to the individualistic approach that has prevailed until now. As mentioned in the text, although they do not reject individual-centred measures, they consider that those with a public approach are insufficient in some regions of the world and non-existent in others.

Therefore, they recommend a form of research and policy making that focuses on the harms caused by gambling at the level of the whole population and not exclusively on problem gamblers, overcoming the individualistic approach.

I do not know if this could be considered a limitation, but certainly achieving a global alliance represents a major challenge. Gambling, its regulation, practice and even the perception of it, depend to a large extent on the cultural context of each country. Designing universal policies and reaching homogeneous consensus can be a major challenge.