This study examined whether restricting the availability and accessibility of electronic gambling machines (EGMs) can help reduce gambling harms. The researchers used the Piedmont region of Italy as the focus of this study. The region of Piedmont passed a law in 2018 to limit the location and operating hours of EGMs. This law mandates that municipalities develop their own regulations, but EGMs have to be shut down for at least 3 hours during a venue’s opening hours. The researchers used data from the Gambling Adult Population Survey in 2018 and 2022. They also used data on policy regarding EGM restrictions (or lack thereof) in municipalities, and data on EGM availability from the gambling monopoly holder, Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM).
The researchers found that municipal policies that reduced the operating hours of EGMs were effective, but only when they suspended EGM use for at least 11 hours a day. This finding remained robust even when the researchers considered substitution effects from a shift towards online gambling or living close to other regions without EGM restrictions. The researchers did not find that reducing the number of EGMs in the area had an effect on gambling harms.
