'Industry still has too loud a voice': expert views on government policy consultations about gambling marketing.

Abstract

Marketing is part of the suite of tactics used by the gambling industry and its allies to promote and normalize gambling. While there have been increased public calls for restrictions on gambling marketing, few governments have developed comprehensive policy responses to counter this public health threat. Consultation processes are widely seen as an important part of public decision-making and policy formation. However, there has been limited focus on these processes in gambling policy development. Using an online qualitative survey this study gathered opinions from 33 experts from Australia, the UK, and the USA (including from local governments, academia, not for profits, and lived experience organizations) about the consultation processes related to gambling marketing policy, and how current processes could be improved. A reflexive approach to thematic analysis was used to construct three themes from the data. First, participants perceived that current consultation processes were inconsistent with public health values and approaches with limited meaningful opportunities for community actors to shape and strengthen policy responses to gambling marketing. Second, participants stated that consultation practices prioritized industry views and concerns, with industry actors (and their allies) having disproportionate access to policymakers and decision-makers. Finally, participants commented that there were few mechanisms to ensure that policy developments related to gambling marketing are protected from vested interests. This paper provides new information about the factors that influence policy decisions about gambling marketing. Mechanisms to protect policy from vested interests are essential in developing comprehensive public health responses to gambling marketing.