Dr. Tom O'brien

New study explores the social impact of gambling in Ireland Playing Social Roulette is a new study led by Dr. Crystal Fulton, School of Information and Library Studies, University College Dublin, to explore the growing phenomenon of gambling in Ireland. Funded through the Irish Research Council with support from the Departments of Social Protection and Justice and Equality, the study explores all aspects of gambling, in particular, its impact on the lives of those who participate and on community and society. Currently, an overall picture of who gambles, how and why they gamble is not available in Ireland. Casinos and new technologies such as Internet or mobile phone gambling offer new opportunities to gamble, in addition to more traditional forms of gambling. Because gambling may lead to addiction for some, along with financial loss and social alienation, understanding perceptions of gambling and the triggers for problem gambling may critically facilitate development of services and prevention of for th