Hard-pressed consumers may be turning to gambling to help fund their way out of the cost-of-living crisis, amid "wall-to-wall" betting adverts, addiction experts have warned. Some of it will be recreational, but in a cost-of-living crisis-type situation, some people would turn to gambling as a means to make ends meet. But, he said, with proactive regulation, it could actually be used as a tool to help support those at risk of problem gambling. The data is there, and models will be able to predict who is gambling in a harmful way. “We need to move the dial in terms of our understanding of gambling disorder as a biologically driven brain disease,” he added.

Source: Irish Examiner December 31, 2025 20:55 UTC