2026-09-14T21:17:52Zhttps://gredos.usal.es/oai/request

oai:gredos.usal.es:10366/1691542026-01-23T01:02:28Zcom_10366_4322com_10366_4200com_10366_3946com_10366_3823col_10366_4323

Molina Fernández, Antonio Jesús Robert Segarra, Anna Martín Herrero, José Antonio Sánchez Iglesias, Iván Saiz Galdós, Jesús Fernández Mora, Karla Gambling regulation/legalization Recreational use Qualitative study Overton window [EN]Abstract: During the last decade, gambling (online and offline) regulation has become a social and epidemiological problem all around Europe. The aftermaths of this addiction have increased since the so-called “responsible gambling law”, in the second decade of the 21st century. The Overton window (OW) strategy is a political theory that describes how the perception of public opinion can be modified so that ideas that are inconceivable for society become accepted over time. The objective of this study is to identify whether an OW has been used to bias the adequacy of the gambling debate, as well as its scientific, legal, and political bases and the main consequences for both the general population and the major risk groups, especially the consequences in social and health contexts. The study was conducted by the application of the historical-logical method as the central axis of analysis and reflection, and the technique of qualitative research content analysis as a procedure in the process of execution of the scientific task, related to a historical trend study of the research object. The main consequences found were: the political acceptance of gambling for economical causes and taxes benefits, the use of popular characters to increase the acceptance of the pattern of behavior, the inclusion of the gambling operators as agents in the risks control, and the absence of intervention until the main consequences have been transformed into an epidemiological problem (with social aftermaths higher than the previously identified related to the gambling problems). Furthermore, the results suggest the need to implement prevention and health promotion strategies and the adoption of specific legal measures that regulate the access and the marketing of gambling operators’ activities. 2026-01-22 2026-01-22 2023 info:eu-repo/semantics/article Molina-Fernández, A. J., Robert-Segarra, A., Martín-Herrero, J. A., Sánchez-Iglesias, I., Saiz-Galdós, J., & Fernández-Mora, K. (2023). Regulating Gambling Use through the Overton Window: From an Addictive Behavior to a Social and Epidemiological Problem. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(8). https://doi.org/10.3390/IJERPH20085481 1578-2735 http://hdl.handle.net/10366/169154 10.3390/IJERPH20085481 1660-4601 eng https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/8/5481 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacional MDPI