A reputable economic advisor has described a report commissioned by New Zealand’s Ministry of Health as “seriously flawed” and has warned that the conclusions of the report should not be trusted.
The report in questions, called “Measuring the Burden of Gambling Harm in New Zealand” was made especially for the country’s Ministry of Health. It was worth NZ$319,000 at the time when prepared. Unfortunately, the respected economics advisor now claims that there are over 10 research flaws in the controversial report.
According to the findings in the report, so-called low-risk gambling, like, for example, Lottery ticket purchases, was as equally harmful to the gambler’s health and well-being as physical mutilation. Gambling addiction, on the other hand, was compared to suffering from terminal cancer or the consequences of a massive stroke.
However, the advisor’s review of the methodology of the study has concluded that such comparisons could not be considered accurate. Moreover, they also claimed that these comparisons were deliberately made, and were allowed by errors and biased mindset. The Gaming Machine Association of New Zealand (GMANZ) has released the full opinion on the review on video that is now accessible online.
People Might Think Casual Gambling Could Be Compared to Serious Health Diseases
The TDB Advisory review has revealed errors that could have been made either by mistake or deliberately in case the survey participants were not selected at random, which means they could have been biased on the matter. In this case, the participants may have attributed the entire harm to gambling, with none consideration made on the associated behaviours. According to the TDB Advisory, the fact that gambling could be used as a coping mechanism with other harms or could be a symptom of other problems rather than being the main cause.
The study estimates that the total burden of harms that could occur to gamblers is more serious than the one that could be faced as a result of common health conditions, which, according to the advisor, is not right.
Based on the report’s results, New Zealand Ministers have received pieces of advice that low-risk gamblers normally have approximately 20% of their life quality affected by gambling. Also, after the TDB Advisory issued their review of the report, a spokesman for GMANZ, Bruce Robertson, shared that the Gaming Harm report’s results should not be trusted. Mr Robertson further noted that the report should be officially withdrawn, or at least for an official warning against its use to be made.
According to the TDB Advisory’s spokesman, people could be misled into believing that gambling from time to time could be compared to some serious diseases. Mr Robertson described that approach as a bad policy that could create a false impression in people who are not well-informed about gambling and its possible effects on their health.
- Author
Daniel Williams
