Our projects
The Gambling and Addictions Research Centre's current projects are described here. Our research findings are widely disseminated to inform policy development, health care providers, health professionals, students, policymakers and the wider community.
Preliminary investigation of patterns of online gambling and gaming engagement and harm in New Zealand: Empirical survey
Shifts in technology, culture, and society have brought online gaming and gambling (gaming-gambling) into relationship in new ways, with games integrating more gambling elements, mechanics, or themes, and gambling activities incorporating more game-like elements. The objective of this project is to explore patterns of online gambling and online gaming engagement and harm in New Zealand.
Funded by: Ministry of Health
Principal researchers: Maria Bellringer, Oliver Birch, Anja Vorster and Nick Garrett
Participant recruitment: Horizon Research Ltd
Study advisors: Annie-Claude Savard (Laval University, Canada) and Sylvia Kairouz (Concordia University, Canada)
Understanding gambling relapse and associated factors: A longitudinal approach
The objective of this project is to understand why people relapse into harmful gambling and the factors that are associated with relapse. This research is required to increase the very limited understanding of what relapse actually is (in a measurable way) and to then understand why people relapse into harmful gambling and identify the factors that are associated with relapse. This is necessary to provide robust data to inform the development of social and health policies, interventions, and public health approaches to reduce relapse rates and, thereby, reduce gambling harms.
Funded by: Ministry of Health
Principal researchers: Maria Bellringer, Oliver Birch, Anja Vorster and Nick Garrett
Measuring the gambling-related financial harms experienced by whānau and affected others and identifying mitigating practices
The objective of this project is to improve our understanding of the financial harms experienced by whānau and affected others in New Zealand, including the moderating roles of gender and ethnicity, and how financial products and related policies may exacerbate or attenuate these harms. Findings will increase awareness, improve support, inform decisions and decrease harm.
Funded by: Ministry of Health
Project lead: Greo Evidence Insights
Principal GREO researchers: Sasha Stark, Sheila McKnight and Carling Baxter
Principal AUT researchers: Maria Bellringer, Oliver Birch and Nick Garrett
Exploring youth Esports behaviours to understand health benefits and potential for harm
This research will gather preliminary information from high school youth on the health benefits and harms of participation in electronic sports (known as Esports), and the potential for gaming disorders or migration to gambling with the risk of ensuing harm. Esports are a relatively new but rapidly growing form of organised team sport involving competitive video gaming using computers, consoles, tablets or mobile phones.
Funded by: AUT Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences
Principal researchers: Maria Bellringer, Oliver Birch and Aaron Drummond (University of Tasmania)
Pacific Islands Families Study: Young adult gambling behaviours and associated risk factors
The PIF study has provided a unique opportunity whereby youth have been directly asked about their gambling behaviours at three time points (ages 9, 14 and 17 years). The current study will assess early adult gambling behaviours (at age 22 years), and analyse these behaviours against other internal, external and earlier influences. It will extend the knowledge gained from the earlier PIF gambling studies and will provide important information on the gambling behaviours of, and consequences for, young Pacific adults, who have recently gained legal access to all types of gambling activities.
Funded by: Ministry of Health
Principal researchers: Maria Bellringer and Nick Garrett in collaboration with the PIF team
Past projects
You can find more past projects, where a report is available to download, on our research reports page. The past projects shown below do not have reports available.
This research developed a set of major indicators that could be predictors of early potential problem gambling behaviour for casino gamblers.
Funded by: Ministry of Health
Principal researchers: Max Abbott, Maria Bellringer, Nick Garrett
This project was conducted by Southern Cross University, New South Wales, Australia in collaboration with the Gambling and Addictions Research Centre, AUT. It was funded by Gambling Research Australia and examined the temporal relationship between problem gambling and other co-occurring disorders and whether the presence of a particular morbid condition or series of comorbidities predicted the development or presence of problem gambling.
This project was conducted by Southern Cross University, New South Wales, Australia in collaboration with the Gambling and Addictions Research Centre, AUT. It was funded by Gambling Research Australia and examined, identified and analysed gambler formal and informal help-seeking behaviour in an Australian context.
The Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand and MedTech collaborated with the Gambling and Addictions Research Centre on a project to provide training on problem gambling screening to General Practitioners who are part of the MedTech user group. The aim of the project was to identify problem gamblers within routine medical consultations so that a subsequent referral to a problem gambling treatment provider could be made during the consultation (if required). The Problem Gambling Foundation spearheaded the project which was commissioned by the Ministry of Health.
The National Research Bureau Ltd subcontracted the Gambling and Addictions Research Centre to assist in the development and implementation of a gaming and betting activities survey to benchmark knowledge, attitudes and behaviours at the start of a social marketing programme to prevent and minimise gambling harm. The Health Sponsorship Council developed and is delivering the social marketing programme as part of the work funded by the Ministry of Health.
This literature review aimed to inform the likely effectiveness of social marketing objectives and approaches and behaviour change indicators to prevent and minimise gambling harm.
A review of research on aspects of gambling with particular emphasis being given to problem gamblers. The three key elements of the review were:
- The development of, and risk factors for, problem gambling
- The intervention options for the treatment of problem gambling and the effectiveness of these options
- The impact of alternative approaches to public education and awareness raising about the risks of gambling and assessment of these approaches
Other major past projects have included the New Zealand and Swedish National Gaming Surveys. The Department of Internal Affairs commissioned the New Zealand Gaming Survey. The intent of the research was to inform government policy on gaming and responses to problem gambling, contribute to local scientific knowledge in the field of gambling studies and provide information relevant to stakeholder and end-user organisations that have an interest in gaming and/or problem gambling. In total, seven reports on gaming were completed.
NZ National Gambling Study
This is the first New Zealand population representative longitudinal study into gambling, health, lifestyles.
Our people
Get to know the researchers within the Gambling and Addictions Research Centre.