Problem gambling in Germany: results of a mixed-mode population survey in 2021

Since 2006, representative telephone surveys among the German general population have not detected any significant changes with respect to gambling-related problems. This is remarkable, as in the meantime not only the availability of gambling services and the turnover and gross gambling revenues of gambling providers have increased, but also the demand for treatment from people with gambling problems has grown. Not only in the gambling field have population surveys of this type recently been associated with certain methodological problems. These include a decreasing willingness to participate among and limited access to specific subgroups. The prevalence study at hand is based on a mixed-mode design which combines both a telephone and an online survey. The weighting of both samples in a ratio of 2 to 1 was checked against plausibility data. The sample consists of 12,303 complete interviews (telephone: 61%, online: 39%). The results show that 2.3% of the German population aged 18–70 years are identified as having a ‘gambling disorder’ according to DSM-5 (mild disorder: 1.1%, moderate disorder: 0.7%, and severe disorder: 0.5%). The prevalence detected in this study is significantly higher than that of previous surveys. Finally, we discuss the results primarily within the context of the new survey methodology.