CfC: SPECIAL ISSUE ON GAMBLING POLICIES AND PRACTICES

Gambling activity has reached unprecedented levels worldwide and the effects of gambling have come under intense public, political, and academic scrutiny. Problem gambling has emerged as a significant public health issue and there is a great need for a more thorough coherent scholarly discussion regarding ways in which gambling activities can and potentially should be controlled and governed in contemporary societies.

Gambling policies take a variety of shapes and they concern different kinds of gambling activities and situations. A characteristic of this policy area is that it involves competing and concurring commercial and state interests. While concerns have been expressed about the implications of widespread availability and consumption of gambling, in many countries the revenues deriving from government‐operated gambling serve as a valuable source of funding for youth work, research, health and education. Meanwhile, the increase of problem gambling appears to be linked to governments’ policies which have increased both the availability and the promotion of gambling. While most intervention efforts target adult pathological gamblers, there is growing concern that adolescents and young adults also represent a high risk group for gambling problems.

It is important that states ensure that their gambling policies and regulations match wider objectives while simultaneously protecting the public interest. A growing public health concern is the rise of online gambling where national restrictions are easily circumvented.

With the above in mind, Addiction Research & Theory invites manuscript submissions to a special issue on gambling policies and practices. The theme is to be interpreted in a broad sense and contributions may to cover different kinds of gambling activities (e.g., gaming machines, lotteries, betting, online casinos), different kinds of policies (e.g., availability, marketing, prevention), targeting different sorts of gambling activities and groups (large scale, online, age groups, whole populations).

Contributions, which should follow the general technical guidelines of the journals manuscripts (see: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/authorSubmission?journalCode=iart20&page=instructions#.VqdObkbp3Z0) should be submitted by 1 October 2016.

Please express intentions of interest by providing a short abstract / manuscript plan to the guest editors before the 20th of May 2016.

Guest editors:
Matilda Hellman (matilda.hellman@helsinki.fi)
Jenny Cisneros Örnberg (jenny.cisneros@sorad.su.se)