The award presented at the Royal Society of Public Health Annual Awards, King’s Fund, recognises the paper as the most cited in the journal over the past year—a testament to its critical impact on public health policy.
The study is a comprehensive review of evidence on the relationship between gambling advertising and gambling-related harm. Contrary to industry claims that no causal link exists, the research highlights robust experimental, observational, and qualitative evidence that exposure to gambling advertising contributes to gambling-related harm, particularly among vulnerable groups such as children and young people.
The study, titled "", underscores the urgent need to regulate and limit gambling advertising. It has been cited in both the Gambling White Paper, published by the previous government in 2023, and by the final report of the Commission on Health and Prosperity published in September 2024. First author Ellen McGrane, a Wellcome-funded PhD student and research associate in the ºù«Ӱҵ Addictions Research Group (SARG), expressed her excitement:
"I was delighted that our work was recognised by this prestigious award. We hope our review helps provide much needed evidence to support action by national government and local councils to reduce the harmful impact of gambling, by regulating and limiting advertising, particularly to children and young people and to other vulnerable groups."
Senior author, Liddy Goyder, Professor of Public Health who accepted the award on behalf of her co-authors, emphasised the study’s immediate relevance:
"I was delighted to be able to attend the Royal Society of Public Health Annual Awards Ceremony to accept the award with co-authors from ºù«Ӱҵ and Glasgow. It is a great example of our public health research and evidence synthesis programme producing studies with immediate value to policymakers and public health practitioners."
The study’s findings offer a compelling argument for stronger advertising regulations, positioning the University of ºù«Ӱҵ as a leader in public health research.