Research
The GRAI is investing in research to:
Inform our approach to regulation.
Inform our policy development.
Ensure the public has the most up to date, relevant and accessible information relating to gambling harm and addiction.
Our research partner is the ESRI (Economic and Social Research Institute).
Our research steering group includes representatives from the ESRI, the Health Research Board and the Institute of Public Health.
2026
Childhood Gambling Experiences and Adult Problem Gambling - 2026
The findings of the study add to the weight of evidence pointing towards a link between childhood experiences of gambling and problem gambling in adulthood.
The research gathered anonymous online responses from a representative sample of more than 1,600 adults. The researchers compared current gambling behaviour with childhood experiences, controlling for social background.
The data revealed a strong link. Those who gambled as a child were almost twice as likely to suffer from problem gambling. Having a parent who gambled increased the likelihood of problem gambling by one third, while parental attitudes to gambling had a similarly large effect.
People who both gambled as children and had a parent who gambled a lot were four times more likely to suffer from problem gambling.
The majority of the sample had engaged in at least some form of gambling when under 18 years old. The most common forms were slot machines, scratch cards, horse or dog betting, gambling amongst friends, bingo and lotteries.
The full report can be found here.
2025
Effects of inducements on sports gambling and decision-errors: An experimental study
The findings add to growing evidence that inducements lead more people to gamble and gamblers to spend more, increasing financial losses for consumers and raising profits for operators. Findings indicate that inducements disproportionately affect those with evidence of Problem Gambling.
This study illustrates novel evidence that inducements push gamblers into making decision errors, opting for bad bets that heighten the risk of financial harm. Inducements to gamble are not merely a marketing tool that operates like equivalent inducements in other consumer markets.
Read the full study here
2023
Measures of problem gambling, gambling behaviours and perceptions of gambling in Ireland – October 2023
The findings of this study estimate that 1 in 30 adults or 130,000 are experiencing Problem Gambling. This estimate is more than ten times higher than previous estimates of Problem Gambling in Ireland
Read the full report here.
Problem Gambling: A Narrative Review of Important Policy-Relevant Issues – June 2023
This literature review examined current research and identified areas of concern relating to problem gambling for future examination.
Read the full report here.