The assessment comes from independent public policy research agency the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) which published its “Measures of Problem Gambling in Ireland” report.
The ESRI study was commissioned by the Implementation Team supporting the establishment of the new Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland.
Applying a new ‘anonymous online survey’, the ESRI outlines its best assumption that 1-in-30 Irish adults has a problem with gambling. The figure is 10X higher than the 2019 estimate guiding the Irish government’s current agenda on gambling harms.
The ESRI survey was conducted in August 2023 with a user sample of 2,850 adults aged 18 and over, in which researchers underlined that they had carried out ‘multiple validity checks’ in comparison to previous studies measuring harms.
As such, the “validity of the 1-in-30 figure is supported..