Background: According to the Gambling Commission, in 2018, almost half of the general population aged 16 and over had participated in gambling in the 4 weeks before being surveyed. Such surveys suggest that the proportion of people who are classed as 'problem' gamblers is relatively small; however, this may be related to the ways data are collected and gambling behaviour is classified. Concern about the harms associated with gambling is rising, and in response, Public Health England (PHE) has initiated this review to identify the harms associated with this activity. Harms to the gambler, their close associates and the wider society will all be included.
Methods: Abbreviated systematic review processes will be employed. Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Embase, Ovid Psycinfo, NICE Evidence and EBSCO SocIndex; a range of websites (for grey literature); and reference lists of included studies will be searched. Experts will be asked to identify other relevant literature. Literature published in years 2005-2019, published in English, from a country within the Organisation for Economic Development (OECD) and following an observational, qualitative or systematic review design will be included. AMSTAR2 (systematic reviews), the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (observational studies) and the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) qualitative checklist (qualitative studies) will be used to assess the risk of bias. A narrative synthesis will be used to summarise the results. The body of evidence will also be assessed according to the principles laid out in the CERQual approach.
Discussion: This protocol provides details of the framework that has been set up to guide this systematic review. The results of this review will provide an extensive assessment of the breadth and magnitude of harms associated with gambling. This will be one of the most comprehensive reviews of gambling-related harms undertaken to date.
Systematic review registration: PROSPERO CRD42019154757.
Keywords: Gamble; Harm; Loot boxes; Public health; Systematic review.