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Methodological factors affecting estimates of the prevalence of gambling harm in the United Kingdom: A multi-survey study

Author: P. Sturgis & J Kuha Published: May 2021
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Summary

This report by Patrick Sturgis and Jouni Kuha from the London School of Economics, commissioned by GambleAware, examines how survey methodology affects estimates of gambling harm prevalence in the UK, comparing 8 surveys with different sampling and data collection approaches.

Topics covered

  • comparison of online and face-to-face surveys
  • sources of error in gambling prevalence estimates
  • recommendations for future gambling surveys

Key findings

Online surveys consistently produce higher estimates of gambling harm compared to face-to-face surveys. This appears to be due to selection bias in online surveys.
While online surveys may overestimate gambling harm, they offer advantages in cost and sample size. A mixed approach combining online and periodic face-to-face surveys is recommended going forward.

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