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The Prevalence and Clinical and Sociodemographic Factors of Problem Online Gambling: A Systematic Review

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Abstract

The emergence and spread of new technologies have allowed for the introduction of new forms of gambling. Problem online gambling has specific characteristics, and its prevalence may differ from traditional forms of gambling. This paper systematically reviews studies that include data relevant to problem online gambling and to the sociodemographic and comorbidity variables related to it. A systematic literature search was conducted from Medline database. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement, preliminary search resulted in 427 articles, from which 20 were included in this systematic review based on pre-determined criteria. The reported prevalence of problem online gambling varied widely across the different studies. This heterogeneity is due to large variations in settings, instruments, and definitions of problem online gambling, which rules out a meta-analytic approach to the results. The sources of variability in the prevalence, the sociodemographic and comorbidity factors, and the implications for future research are discussed.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the continuous support by Instituto de Salud Carlos III integrated into the Plan Nacional de I+D+I (Co-funded by European Regional Development Fund/European Social Fund) "Investing in your future"); the CIBERSAM (Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental). Dr. Colom thanks the support and funding of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, through FIS (PI15/00588 and PI19/00009), and the Secretaria d'Universitats i Recerca del Departament d'Economia i Coneixement de la Generalitat de Catalunya Goverment of Catalonia (2017_SGR_134). Dr. Colom receives unrestricted research support from Telefónica Alpha too. Dr. Amann acknowledges the support by a PERIS Grant (SLT006/17/00038) from the Catalonia Government ansd also thanks to “Secretaria d′Universitats i Recerca del Departament d′Economia i Coneixement (2017 SGR 46 to “Unitat de Recerca del Centre Fòrum”), Generalitat de Catalunya (Government of Catalonia)” for the recognition as an emerging research group. Dr. Jiménez-Murcia thanks the CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya for institutional support, as well as the Spain Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities (RTI2018-101837-B-100), the Spain Government Delegation for the National Drug Strategy (2017I067), FEDER funds/European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) “a way to build Europe”, and the CIBERObn (Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y la Nutrición), Instituto de Salud Carlos III.

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Correspondence to Francesc Colom.

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Mora-Salgueiro, J., García-Estela, A., Hogg, B. et al. The Prevalence and Clinical and Sociodemographic Factors of Problem Online Gambling: A Systematic Review. J Gambl Stud 37, 899–926 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-021-09999-w

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