GREAT Network Wales Hosts International Gambling Research Conference
On May 19th and 20th 2022, the GREAT Network Wales (GREAT), together with the Society for the Study of Addiction (SSA) and Greo hosted the Current Advances in Gambling Research conference, bringing the event to Wales for the first time.
CAGR is a unique event, independent of gambling industry funding and produced collaboratively alongside individuals with lived experience of gambling harm.
In advance of the UK Government’s forthcoming review of gambling laws, 2022 has seen unprecedented popular debate on a wide range of gambling issues, from advertising, sponsorship and research funding to the concept of ‘responsible’ gambling, and vulnerability to harm. It is vital that stakeholders can access high-quality research which offers a thorough and accurate understanding of such issues.
Opened by Rt Hon Carolyn Harris MP, CAGR 2022 brought together over 125 leading researchers, clinicians and experts by experience from across the world, for two days of talks on the latest developments in gambling research and treatment.
Keynote speakers included GREAT Network Co-Director, Prof Henrietta Bowden-Jones OBE of the UK National Behavioural Addictions Clinic, Dr Heather Wardle of the University of Glasgow, Dr Luke Clark of the Centre for Gambling Research, University of British Columbia, and Dr Joël Billieux of the University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
Twenty further international speakers presented across 4 themes (Populations Vulnerable to Gambling Related Harm; Neural, Cognitive and Motivational Processes in Gambling; Gambling Advertising, Social Media, and Emerging Data Platforms; and Tracking, Preventing and Treating Gambling Related Harm), with a further 25 presentations via poster.
CAGR 2022 also saw the launch of a brand-new academic society: the Academic Forum for the Study of Gambling. The AFSG is dedicated to advancing rigorous, independent research needed to effectively prevent, reduce, and address gambling harm in the UK.
Professor Simon Dymond, member of the CAGR 2022 Organising Committee and Outreach Co-Chair for the AFSG, said, ‘This hugely successful conference, which was twice postponed due to the pandemic, is testimony to the growing international research interest in gambling behaviour and the importance of developing further, evidence-based treatments for harmful gambling. A highlight of the conference was hearing from those with lived experience of gambling harm who bravely shared their stories and underlined that co-produced research with academics is essential to drive the field forward. We look forward to the continued success of the CAGR conference series.’
For images of presentations and commentary on the event, visit the conference hashtag #CAGR2022
About Current Advances in Gambling Research
The annual CAGR conference brings together experts with academic, clinical and lived experience to discuss the latest developments in gambling research and treatment in a supportive and critically reflective environment. CAGR is multi-disciplinary and welcomes contributions from all academic perspectives to the scientific study of gambling and the treatment of gambling related problems. CAGR 2022 was co-funded and co-organised by the GREAT Network Wales (greatwales.org), Society for the Study of Addictions (addiction-ssa.org) and the Gambling Research Exchange Ontario (greo.ca), with the support of the new Academic Forum for the Study of Gambling (afsg.org.uk/membership). The next CAGR conference will take place in London (UK) in 2023: for further information, visit cagrconference.org and follow us @cagrconference.
