Prevalence of problem gambling in an employed population in Brittany, France

Abstract

Some employees may have recourse to gambling, notably as an adaptive strategy. Although many studies have been performed on specific occupational groups (i.e. gambling industry, transportation or teaching), none have been conducted with workers followed-up by Occupational Health Services (OHS). Our aim was to evaluate the prevalence of problem gambling in an employed population and its links with work. We performed a cross-sectional study between November 2016 and April 2017, in an OHS in France. We evaluated the prevalence of gambling using the Lie or Bet questionnaire and the Canadian Problem Gambling Index. Among the 410 employees included, 138 (33.7%) had gambled in the previous year, 12 (2.9%) considered their gambling experience to be work-related, 13 (3.2%) were identified as problem gamblers. The influence of colleagues and the workplace hierarchy and ease of access to gambling (in tobacco shops, bars…) could be risk factors. Screening for gambling behavior could be offered by occupational health services, using the Lie or Bet, especially for employees exposed to readily available gambling opportunities at their workplace.