The aim of this project was to provide a broader lens through which the costs and benefits of gambling can be analysed, and the societal-level impacts of gambling better understood.
The specific aims of this project were to:
- assess the social and economic impacts of gambling in New Zealand
- provide quantitative measures of the impacts of gambling from a representative sample of New Zealanders aged 15 years and over to provide information at the individual level and allow for aggregation at the societal level.
- collect quantitative measures that assess the negative and positive impacts of gambling experienced by the gambler and by significant others (e.g. whanau, workmates), and the wider community.
- collect quantitative measures of the impacts of gambling from three different ethnic groups within New Zealand, specifically Maori, Pacific peoples and Asian peoples.
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to describe, understand and, where possible, quantify the impacts of gambling. Quantification was regarded as important to support ongoing monitoring of the impacts of gambling in New Zealand over time. A public health approach was adopted to take a broad view of the impacts of gambling, in particular at the family/whanau, community, and population levels.