Getting grounded in problematic play: using digital grounded theory to understand problem gambling and harm minimisation opportunities in remote gambling

The study was designed to explore patterns of problem gambling in the remote gambling sector and to provide new ideas and theoretical foundations for strategies to mitigate risks and harms. Only problem gamblers were studied; low-risk, moderate risk and non-problem gamblers were beyond the scope of this research. The study did not have a priori hypotheses to test; rather the research aim was to generate new theoretical concepts to help account for patterns of problem gambling observed within remote gambling environments. This means the focus of the study was to observe patterns of remote gambling of problem gamblers over a consistent time-period and to identify the specific gambling behaviours and variables that were related to probable harmful consequences for those participants. Particular emphasis in the study was placed on highlighting new concepts to emerge that are absent from existing problem gambling literature, but may assist in explaining problem gambling in remote settings.