Gambling poses huge global threat to public health, experts warn

Sophisticated marketing, easy access to the internet and mobile phones are enabling the gambling industry to reach more people than ever before. Photograph: Maddie Red Photography/Alamy

Gambling poses a growing worldwide threat to public health, with its rapid expansion via mobile phones and the internet harming far more people than previously thought, a report warns.

Much stronger global regulatory controls are urgently needed to curb the impact of commercial gambling on global health and wellbeing, a group of leading experts in gambling, public health, global health and regulatory policy concluded.