My Academic Biography and Contributions to Gambling Research
I am a British social scientist specialising in gambling research, public health, and policy, and my work focuses on understanding how gambling affects individuals, families, communities, and wider society. For almost two decades, I have been involved in large-scale national and international research programmes that examine gambling behaviour, gambling-related harms, and the effectiveness of regulatory and policy responses. My research is driven by a commitment to producing robust evidence that can inform public debate, policy reform, and practical interventions aimed at reducing harm.
Over the course of my career, I have led major population studies, contributed to legislative and regulatory discussions, advised parliamentary inquiries, and collaborated with global organisations, including the World Health Organization, to advance understanding of gambling as a public health issue.
My work draws on a wide range of methods, including quantitative and qualitative research, large-scale surveys, longitudinal cohort studies, and policy analysis. I am currently Professor of Gambling Research and Policy at the University of Glasgow, co-director of Gambling Research Glasgow, and I previously served as co-chair of the Lancet Public Health Commission on Gambling, an international initiative that sought to reframe gambling harms within a public health paradigm.
Early Life and Academic Formation
While details of my early personal life are not widely documented, my academic and professional trajectory reflects an early and sustained commitment to social science research and public health. From the outset of my studies, I was motivated by questions about social inequalities, health outcomes, and how evidence can be used to improve policy and practice.
I completed a PhD and advanced academic training in social science, public health, and research methodology, which provided a strong foundation in epidemiology, statistical analysis, and policy-oriented research. Early in my career, I became involved in major national studies such as the Health Survey for England and the British Gambling Prevalence Survey. These projects played a formative role in shaping my expertise in large-scale survey design, population-level analysis, and the interpretation of complex behavioural data.
Academic Career Overview
My academic career has evolved from research leadership within public health research organisations to senior academic roles within higher education. Between 2002 and 2015, I worked at NatCen Social Research, where I led the organisation’s gambling research programme. In this role, I oversaw national gambling prevalence studies, developed new survey instruments, and managed multidisciplinary teams of social scientists working at the intersection of gambling, health, and social policy.
In 2015, I joined the University of Glasgow, where I now lead Gambling Research Glasgow (GRG). GRG is an interdisciplinary research group that brings together scholars from public health, social policy, sociology, psychology, and statistics to examine the causes, distribution, and consequences of gambling harms. Alongside my role at Glasgow, I maintain academic links with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, contributing to research and teaching in public health and policy.
| Years | Institution | Role / Position | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002–2015 | NatCen Social Research | Lead, Gambling Research Programme | I led national gambling studies, survey development, and policy-focused analysis |
| 2015–Present | University of Glasgow | Professor of Gambling Research and Policy | I lead Gambling Research Glasgow and oversee large-scale research and policy engagement |
| 2017–2022 | Wellcome Trust | Humanities & Social Science Research Fellow | I held a competitive fellowship supporting independent research |
| Ongoing | London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine | Faculty / Researcher | I collaborate on public health and policy research |
Research Focus and Major Themes
My research adopts a broad, interdisciplinary approach to the study of gambling, with several key areas of focus:
- Public health approaches to gambling, where I conceptualise gambling harms as extending beyond clinical problem gambling to include social, psychological, financial, and community-level impacts.
- Gambling behaviour across the life course, including how gambling patterns emerge among young people and evolve in adulthood, and how digital environments shape participation.
- Population surveys and data analysis, including my leadership of the Gambling Survey for Great Britain, which represents the most comprehensive source of data on gambling behaviour in the UK.
- Evidence production and policy framing, with particular attention to how research evidence is interpreted, contested, and used within political and regulatory decision-making.
- The intersection of gaming and gambling, especially the blurring of boundaries created by features such as loot boxes, skins, and monetisation mechanics in digital games.
Through this body of work, I have sought to move the field away from narrow, individualised understandings of gambling problems toward a public health framework that recognises harm as widespread, socially patterned, and shaped by commercial and regulatory environments.
| Year | Title | Source / Journal | Link (nofollow) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | The Lancet Public Health Commission on Gambling | Lancet Public Health | DOI |
| 2023 | Changes in severity of problem gambling and subsequent suicide attempts | Lancet Public Health | PMC |
| 2021 | Loot boxes, gambling and problem gambling among young people | Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking | DOI |
| 2019 | The same or different? Convergence of skin gambling and other gambling among children | Journal of Gambling Studies | DOI |
| 2021 | Games Without Frontiers? Socio-historical perspectives on the gaming/gambling intersection | Palgrave Macmillan (book) | DOI |
Books and Major Reports
My book, Games Without Frontiers?, examines the growing convergence between digital gaming and gambling, exploring how technological change has reshaped risk, regulation, and harm — particularly for children and young people. Alongside this work, I have contributed to numerous policy reports and commissioned studies on gambling harms, including research focused on developing and refining measures of harm suitable for population-level surveys.
Impactful Research Projects and Grants
My research has been supported by major funding bodies, including the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Wellcome Trust, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and the Medical Research Council (MRC). These grants have enabled me to lead projects examining changes in gambling behaviour over time, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, interventions to reduce harm, and methodological innovations in harm measurement.
Policy Engagement and Evidence Translation
A central part of my work involves translating research evidence into policy-relevant insights. I have served as Deputy Chair of the Advisory Board for Safer Gambling, providing independent advice to the UK Gambling Commission and government, and I have given evidence to the UK Parliament’s Culture, Media, and Sport Select Committee.
Internationally, I have contributed to policy discussions through engagement with the World Health Organization, particularly in relation to addictive behaviours and regulatory approaches to harm reduction.
Public Engagement and Media Presence
I regularly engage with the media to communicate research findings to wider audiences. My work has been featured in BBC programmes, documentaries, and investigative journalism, with a focus on increasing public understanding of gambling harms and their social distribution, particularly among young people and vulnerable populations.
Recognition and Professional Activities
I serve on editorial boards, act as a peer reviewer for international journals, and regularly speak at academic and policy conferences worldwide. Mentoring doctoral students and early-career researchers is an important part of my role, and I am committed to supporting the next generation of scholars working in gambling and public health research.
My work is driven by a commitment to understanding gambling as a population-level public health issue, shaped by social, economic, and commercial forces. Through research, policy engagement, and public communication, I aim to contribute to more effective, evidence-based approaches to reducing gambling-related harms in the UK and internationally.
