Dr Eleanor Button

Problem gambling and pathways into homelessness

What impact does problem gambling have on pathways into homelessness? How is the pathway experienced by problem gamblers and what factors influence their decision making and actions as their housing and other difficulties intensify?

Studies of pathways into homelessness for other population groups highlight the interplay between structural and individual dynamics. However, the pathway for problem gamblers remains largely unexplored, despite increasing concerns that more homeless men and women have gambling as a factor in their lives.

Given the above, the aim of this project is to undertake an in-depth analysis into how problem gambling influences pathways into homelessness and how gambling can contribute to its incidence. In-depth interviews with problem gamblers will be conducted in metropolitan and rural areas and will help to unravel concepts of agency and structure. Unique, individual experiences will be set within a context that includes current social policy discourses and global trends and impacts on economic and social wellbeing. The analysis will draw out theoretical implications for our understanding of the interactions between problem gambling and homelessness, as well as develop concepts that will better inform policy and service delivery.

Eleanor Button (Flinders University)

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