The Lancet Public Health Commission on gambling Published: October 24, 2024

https://www.thelancet.com/commissions/gambling?dgcid=hubspot_email_conferencealerts_gambling24&utm_campaign=conferencealerts&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_Dk6xb8hffwd2m9fGOOFc-sSDxHwmwjf8ciQk1gOsYv1Xq36Gzabbh5e4bfXo0jCSZ1j7QSfnzrkr-J34QuMD5Nf5cxQ&_hsmi=33040598 Executive Summary Gambling is not an ordinary kind of leisure; it can be a health-harming, addictive behaviour. The harms associated with gambling are wide-ranging, affecting not only an individual's health and wellbeing, but also their wealth and relationships, families and communities, and deepening health and societal inequalities. By examining these harms, the Commission unveils the intersections between the social, commercial, legal, and political determinants of health. The Commission sheds light on the increasingly complex commercial ecosystem for gambling and its digital transformation which offer unparalleled capacities for gambling. The Commission calls on governments and policymakers to treat gambling as a public health issue—just as for other addictive and health-harming commodities, such as alcohol and tobacco—and provides recommendations to prevent and mitigate the broad range of harms associated with gambling.