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Public Perceptions of Gambling in the UK Armed Forces: Understanding Stigma Via a Vignette Experiment

Jessica Smith, Simon Dymond Orcid Logo, Jamie Torrance Orcid Logo

Journal of Gambling Studies, Volume: 42, Issue: 1, Pages: 181 - 198

Swansea University Authors: Jessica Smith, Simon Dymond Orcid Logo, Jamie Torrance Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1007/s10899-025-10463-2

Abstract

Gambling-related harm among armed forces (AF) personnel is a growing concern, yet public perceptions remain underexplored. Anticipated public stigma (the fear of how others perceive you) of gambling among the AF is a potential barrier to help-seeking. Understanding how the public perceives gambling...

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Published in: Journal of Gambling Studies
ISSN: 1573-3602
Published: Springer Nature 2026
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71030
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spelling 2026-05-01T11:04:22.2888350 v2 71030 2025-12-01 Public Perceptions of Gambling in the UK Armed Forces: Understanding Stigma Via a Vignette Experiment 26e5761090e1cb84e18bb473007a495a Jessica Smith Jessica Smith true false 8ed0024546f2588fdb0073a7d6fbc075 0000-0003-1319-4492 Simon Dymond Simon Dymond true false de868c4f56d8f5fbecbd686fdbb7b4b5 0000-0001-5001-4126 Jamie Torrance Jamie Torrance true false 2025-12-01 MSR Gambling-related harm among armed forces (AF) personnel is a growing concern, yet public perceptions remain underexplored. Anticipated public stigma (the fear of how others perceive you) of gambling among the AF is a potential barrier to help-seeking. Understanding how the public perceives gambling in the AF is essential for shaping stigma-reduction strategies. A randomised, online 2 × 2 between-subjects experiment was conducted. A representative sample of the United Kingdom public (N = 396) was recruited through Prolific and randomly assigned to view a vignette featuring either an AF member or non-AF civilian who was described as engaging in either harmful or non-harmful gambling. Following exposure to their assigned vignette, participants completed measures assessing stigma and empathy towards the depicted individual. Participants perceived individuals from the AF as significantly more dangerous (p = .002) compared to non-AF civilians. When the vignette depicted gambling-related harm, as opposed to recreational gambling, participants reported significantly higher stigma across seven of the ten stigma measures (all p < .001). This study highlights how public stigma towards gambling harm is strong and can be shaped by military status, with AF personnel facing increased perceptions of dangerousness. Findings underscore the need for public stigma-reduction strategies that address both gambling-related and military-specific misconceptions. Journal Article Journal of Gambling Studies 42 1 181 198 Springer Nature 1573-3602 Gambling; Harm; Military; Armed forces; Stigma; Public perceptions 1 3 2026 2026-03-01 10.1007/s10899-025-10463-2 COLLEGE NANME UK Student Recruitment COLLEGE CODE MSR Swansea University SU Library paid the OA fee (TA Institutional Deal) The project funding is supported by an award from the Centre for Military Gambling Research, which is funded by the Gambling Commission (Regulatory settlements applied for socially responsible purposes). 2026-05-01T11:04:22.2888350 2025-12-01T12:19:14.5702680 Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences School of Psychology Jessica Smith 1 Simon Dymond 0000-0003-1319-4492 2 Jamie Torrance 0000-0001-5001-4126 3 71030__35870__c24d89ea0cca47b4aad105d1c994c675.pdf 71030.VOR.pdf 2025-12-19T12:52:14.5246724 Output 1263140 application/pdf Version of Record true © The Author(s) 2025. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title Public Perceptions of Gambling in the UK Armed Forces: Understanding Stigma Via a Vignette Experiment
spellingShingle Public Perceptions of Gambling in the UK Armed Forces: Understanding Stigma Via a Vignette Experiment
Jessica Smith
Simon Dymond
Jamie Torrance
title_short Public Perceptions of Gambling in the UK Armed Forces: Understanding Stigma Via a Vignette Experiment
title_full Public Perceptions of Gambling in the UK Armed Forces: Understanding Stigma Via a Vignette Experiment
title_fullStr Public Perceptions of Gambling in the UK Armed Forces: Understanding Stigma Via a Vignette Experiment
title_full_unstemmed Public Perceptions of Gambling in the UK Armed Forces: Understanding Stigma Via a Vignette Experiment
title_sort Public Perceptions of Gambling in the UK Armed Forces: Understanding Stigma Via a Vignette Experiment
author_id_str_mv 26e5761090e1cb84e18bb473007a495a
8ed0024546f2588fdb0073a7d6fbc075
de868c4f56d8f5fbecbd686fdbb7b4b5
author_id_fullname_str_mv 26e5761090e1cb84e18bb473007a495a_***_Jessica Smith
8ed0024546f2588fdb0073a7d6fbc075_***_Simon Dymond
de868c4f56d8f5fbecbd686fdbb7b4b5_***_Jamie Torrance
author Jessica Smith
Simon Dymond
Jamie Torrance
author2 Jessica Smith
Simon Dymond
Jamie Torrance
format Journal article
container_title Journal of Gambling Studies
container_volume 42
container_issue 1
container_start_page 181
publishDate 2026
institution Swansea University
issn 1573-3602
doi_str_mv 10.1007/s10899-025-10463-2
publisher Springer Nature
college_str Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
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hierarchy_top_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
department_str School of Psychology{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Psychology
document_store_str 1
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description Gambling-related harm among armed forces (AF) personnel is a growing concern, yet public perceptions remain underexplored. Anticipated public stigma (the fear of how others perceive you) of gambling among the AF is a potential barrier to help-seeking. Understanding how the public perceives gambling in the AF is essential for shaping stigma-reduction strategies. A randomised, online 2 × 2 between-subjects experiment was conducted. A representative sample of the United Kingdom public (N = 396) was recruited through Prolific and randomly assigned to view a vignette featuring either an AF member or non-AF civilian who was described as engaging in either harmful or non-harmful gambling. Following exposure to their assigned vignette, participants completed measures assessing stigma and empathy towards the depicted individual. Participants perceived individuals from the AF as significantly more dangerous (p = .002) compared to non-AF civilians. When the vignette depicted gambling-related harm, as opposed to recreational gambling, participants reported significantly higher stigma across seven of the ten stigma measures (all p < .001). This study highlights how public stigma towards gambling harm is strong and can be shaped by military status, with AF personnel facing increased perceptions of dangerousness. Findings underscore the need for public stigma-reduction strategies that address both gambling-related and military-specific misconceptions.
published_date 2026-03-01T07:54:56Z
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