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Understanding funding-related bias in gambling research: insights from unhealthy commodities industries and medical/pharmaceutical research – a scoping review

  • Adetoun Dapo-Famodu
  • , Matthew M. Young
  • , Kyle Tuico
  • , Simon Dymond
  • , Elliot A. Ludvig
  • , Amanda Roberts
  • , Jim Rogers
  • , Steve Sharman
  • , Sasha Stark
  • , Richard J. Tunney

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

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Abstract

Despite the risk of funding-related bias (RoFRB) introduced by industry funding in gambling research, empirical investigations remain limited. To inform understanding of RoFRB in gambling research, this scoping review synthesized 52 peer-reviewed studies (2019–2024) spanning gambling, other unhealthy commodity sectors, and medical research – fields with similar commercial dynamics to gambling and more extensive examination of RoFRB. Findings indicate that industry influence manifests through identifiable patterns and mechanisms, at both micro (individual study) and macro (evidence base and research ecosystem) levels, with varying detectability. While industry funding is associated with influence, the extent of funder involvement in the research process appears to shape the relationship between funding source and RoFRB. Compared to other sectors, gambling studies show inconsistent uses of the term ‘industry funding,’ narrower explorations of industry influence, and more limited methodological approaches to assessing RoFRB. We propose a two-dimensional framework mapping influence by level and detectability, along with a typology of funders to improve definitional consistency. To improve the identification and mitigation of funder influence in gambling research, stronger disclosure standards, adoption of open science practices, and development of a dedicated RoFRB assessment tool are recommended.
Original languageEnglish
Number of pages29
JournalInternational Gambling Studies
Early online date9 Aug 2026
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 9 Aug 2026

Bibliographical note

Copyright © 2026 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.

Data Access Statement

The data supporting the findings of this scoping review are available in the supplementary materials of this article. This includes the search syntaxes, the inclusion/exclusion decision flow chart, the list of included studies with key article metadata (such as titles, authors, publication year, and journal name) and summary of findings, and the list of studies excluded at full-text screening with reasons for exclusion. Due to copyright and licensing restrictions, access to full texts of the included studies is not provided, but full references are listed for further access.

Funding

This project is funded from regulatory settlements for socially responsible purposes [Regulatory settlements applied for socially responsible purposes. Available at: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/licensees-and-businesses/page/regulatory-settlements-applied-for-socially-responsible-purposes]. Regulatory settlement funds are involuntary payments from gambling operators. They are “a payment in lieu of the financial penalty the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (GC) might otherwise impose for breach of a licence condition”. Importantly, “there is to be no publicity or benefit for the operator in connection with the regulatory settlement”, and the gambling operator has no control over and is not even permitted to communicate with, the organisation provided the funds (in this case Greo Evidence Insights), except to carry out necessary financial transactions. Decisions regarding the awarding of regulatory settlement funds are made by the Social Responsibility Funds Group of the GC. Once awarded, there is no influence exerted on projects by the GC other than monitoring to ensure milestones described in successful proposals are met.

Keywords

  • Bias
  • risk
  • funding
  • industry
  • COI
  • UCIs

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