Gambling often co-occurs with other addictive behaviours, such as smoking and alcohol use. The purpose of this study was to examine how smoking and risky drinking are related to problem gambling, episodes of loss of control, and attempts to reduce or stop gambling. This study used data collected from adults aged 18 years and older who completed the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) in 2023. Responses from a total of 9,742 participants were included in the analyses.
Compared to people who did not gamble, levels of risky drinking and likelihood of smoking increased as gambling risk increased. People with problem gambling were most likely to both smoke and engage in high-risk drinking. Likewise, people who experienced loss of control with their gambling in the past year (i.e., overspent or ignored gambling limits) were more likely to engage in risky drinking and smoke. People who tried to reduce or stop gambling were more likely to smoke. These findings suggest a need to address problem gambling and other addictive behaviours together.
