Heather Wardle

My Journey in Gambling Research – The Story of Heather Wardle

Introduction

My name is Heather Wardle, and I am a social scientist specializing in gambling research, public health, and social policy. Over the last two decades, my career has focused on understanding how gambling affects individuals, families, and communities. My work examines not only the behaviour of people who gamble but also the broader social, technological, and regulatory environments that shape gambling today.

I have been fortunate to work across academic institutions, public policy organisations, and large national research programmes in the United Kingdom. My research has helped inform government debates, public health policy, and regulatory discussions about the gambling industry.

Today I serve as Professor of Gambling Research and Policy at the University of Glasgow, where I co-direct the Gambling Research Glasgow group and collaborate with international scholars studying the global expansion of gambling.

In this article, I want to share the story of my academic journey—from my early interest in social research to my work leading some of the most comprehensive studies of gambling behaviour ever conducted in Great Britain.

My Early Academic Interests

From the beginning of my academic life, I was fascinated by the relationship between society, behaviour, and public policy. I was particularly interested in how social environments influence the ways people make decisions and how those decisions affect their health and wellbeing.

This interest eventually led me to focus on gambling. Gambling is not just an entertainment activity; it is also a social practice shaped by culture, economics, technology, and policy. Understanding gambling requires examining both individual behaviour and the broader systems that enable and regulate it.

During my postgraduate studies, I completed research examining gambling behaviour from a sociological perspective. My doctoral work explored how different contexts influence gambling participation and how individuals experience risk and reward in gambling environments.

That research laid the foundation for the career I would later build studying gambling harms, policy responses, and social impacts.

My Academic Background

My Early Career in Social Research

One of the most formative stages of my career was my time working at NatCen Social Research, where I spent more than a decade designing and leading major national research projects.

During that period, I led large programmes investigating gambling behaviour across Great Britain. These projects required building complex survey designs, managing research teams, and analysing massive datasets to understand patterns in gambling participation.

Among the most important studies I helped design and analyse were:

• The British Gambling Prevalence Survey
• The Health Survey for England
• National research projects examining public health and gambling behaviour.

Working on these studies gave me deep insight into how gambling patterns were changing as online betting platforms, mobile apps, and digital gaming technologies became more widespread.

My Professional Career Timeline

My Work at the University of Glasgow

Today I work at the University of Glasgow as Professor of Gambling Research and Policy. In this role, I lead interdisciplinary projects that examine how gambling affects health, inequality, and social wellbeing.

I am also co-director of Gambling Research Glasgow, a collaborative research group focused on understanding the social and economic impacts of gambling across different communities.

Our research examines questions such as:

• How gambling affects vulnerable populations
• The relationship between gambling marketing and behaviour
• The impact of digital technology on gambling participation
• Public health approaches to gambling harm.

Through this work we aim to produce evidence that helps governments and regulators design policies that protect people from gambling-related harm.

My Research Projects and Publications

My Book and Academic Contributions

One of the most important milestones in my academic career was publishing the book “Games Without Frontiers? Socio-historical Perspectives at the Gaming/Gambling Intersection.”

This book explores how the boundaries between gaming and gambling have become increasingly blurred in the digital age. Modern technologies—from mobile apps to esports betting—have fundamentally changed how people engage with games involving money and risk.

Understanding these changes is crucial for designing policies that can protect individuals while allowing innovation in digital entertainment.

My Role in Public Policy and Government Consultation

Beyond academia, much of my work has focused on advising policymakers and regulatory institutions.

Over the years I have provided evidence and expert testimony to several parliamentary committees examining gambling regulation in the United Kingdom.

These contributions included:

• Evidence to the House of Lords Select Committee on the Gambling Industry
• Evidence to the House of Commons review of the Gambling Act
• Advisory roles on national safer gambling initiatives.

My goal in these policy discussions has always been to ensure that decisions are guided by robust evidence about the real impacts of gambling on individuals and communities

Research Funding and Grants

The Public Health Perspective on Gambling

In recent years, my research has increasingly focused on framing gambling as a public health issue rather than simply a personal behaviour.

This perspective recognises that gambling harm is shaped by many factors:

• marketing and advertising
• product design
• accessibility of online platforms
• social and economic inequalities.

Studies have shown that gambling harms affect not only the individuals who gamble but also their families and communities.

For this reason, I have argued that public policy must address the structural conditions that enable gambling harm rather than focusing solely on individual responsibility.

My Work with International Organisations

My research has also reached beyond the UK.

I have collaborated with international organisations including:

• the World Health Organization
• international gambling research institutes
• global public health commissions examining gambling harm.

Through these collaborations we aim to develop global frameworks for understanding gambling as a public health issue.

Looking Ahead

Looking back at my career so far, I feel privileged to have contributed to a growing field of research that examines gambling through the lens of public health, sociology, and policy.

The gambling industry is evolving rapidly, particularly as digital technologies expand the reach of betting platforms across the world. Today, anyone with a smartphone effectively carries a casino in their pocket.

This transformation creates new challenges for researchers, policymakers, and regulators alike.

My goal remains the same as when I began my career: to produce evidence that helps societies understand gambling more clearly and design policies that minimise harm while promoting wellbeing.