{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,20]],"date-time":"2026-03-20T21:20:39Z","timestamp":1774041639840,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"Akademiai Kiado Zrt.","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,22]],"date-time":"2023-12-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1703203200000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"British Academy\/Leverhulme Small Research Grants Scheme","award":["SG2122\\211340"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["SG2122\\211340"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100007553","name":"Gambling Research Exchange Ontario","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100007553","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["akjournals.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["JBA"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,22]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>Whilst some research has explored the impact of COVID-19 on gambling behaviour, little is yet known about online search behaviours for gambling during this period. The current study explored gambling-related online searches before, during and after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. We also assessed whether search trends were related to Gambling Commission behavioural data over the same period.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>Google Trends\u2122 search data, covering thirty months from January 2020 to June 2022, for five gambling activities and five gambling operators were downloaded. Graphical displays of the weekly relative search values over this period were then produced to visualise trends in search terms, with key dates in COVID-19 policy and sporting events highlighted. Cross-correlations between seasonally adjusted monthly search data and behavioural indices were conducted.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Sharp increases in internet searches for <jats:italic>poker<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>slots<\/jats:italic>, and <jats:italic>bingo<\/jats:italic> were evident during the first lockdown in the UK, with operator searches sharply decreasing over this period. No changes in gambling activity searches were highlighted during subsequent lockdowns, although small increases in operator-based searches were detected. Strong positive correlations were found between search data and industry data for <jats:italic>sports betting<\/jats:italic> and <jats:italic>poker<\/jats:italic> but not for <jats:italic>slots<\/jats:italic>.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title><jats:p>Google Trends\u2122 data may act as an indicator of population-level gambling behaviour. Substitution of preferred gambling activities for others may have occurred during the first lockdown when opportunities for sports betting were limited. Further research is needed to assess the effectiveness of internet search data in predicting gambling-related harm.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1556\/2006.2023.00055","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,12]],"date-time":"2023-10-12T13:24:09Z","timestamp":1697117049000},"page":"983-991","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1556\/policypage.crossmark.crossref.2","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Tracking online searches for gambling activities and operators in the United Kingdom during the COVID-19 pandemic: A Google Trends\u2122 analysis"],"prefix":"10.1556","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0165-122X","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Scott","family":"Houghton","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Psychology, Swansea University, Singleton Campus, Swansea, SA2 8PP, United Kingdom"},{"name":"Department of Psychology, Northumbria University, Newcastle Upon Type, NE1 8ST, United Kingdom"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1373-6634","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Frederic","family":"Boy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"iLab Innovation and Research Centre, School of Management, Swansea University, Bay Campus, Swansea, SA2 8PP, United Kingdom"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4304-7653","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Alexander","family":"Bradley","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Education and Sociology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, PO1 2HY, United Kingdom"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6644-7011","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Richard","family":"James","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, United Kingdom"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1361-3706","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Heather","family":"Wardle","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, United Kingdom"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1319-4492","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Simon","family":"Dymond","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Psychology, Swansea University, Singleton Campus, Swansea, SA2 8PP, United Kingdom"},{"name":"Department of Psychology, Reykjav\u00edk University, Menntavegur 1, Nauth\u00f3lsv\u00edk, 101 Reykjav\u00edk, Iceland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"425","reference":[{"key":"B1","series-title":"Call for tighter restrictions on online gaming during the COVID-19 pandemic","author":"All Party Parliamentary Group on Gambling Harms","year":"2020","unstructured":"All Party Parliamentary Group on Gambling Harms. 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