Gambling policy positions of Finnish newspapers between 2004 and 2020: An automated content analysis

Aims: The media can influence gambling policy formation and public opinion. Previous research has established that the tension between political or public interest in gambling revenue and gambling harm is fundamental for understanding gambling policy. There are two opposing gambling policy positions: (1) gambling revenue or the economic benefits of gambling, and (2) the harmful impacts of gambling. This study is the first study to estimate these gambling policy positions of newspapers on a common scale. The objective is to estimate how the gambling policy positions of major Finnish daily newspapers evolved between 2004 and 2020. This knowledge deepens our understanding about the changes in the relative balance between harm and revenue in gambling policy. Methods and data: The data consisted of newspaper editorials (N = 58) on gambling policy from five major Finnish daily newspapers between 2004 and 2020. The data were analysed with the automated content analysis algorithm Wordfish. Results: The results show that there has been a clear shift in the gambling policy positions of the major Finnish newspapers towards increased acknowledgement of the importance of prevention and reduction of gambling harm. Conclusions: Due to the interplay between the media, politics, and the public, it is likely that the importance of prevention and reduction of gambling harm will be recognised and addressed to a larger extent when gambling policy is formulated in Finland in the future. More generally, if the gambling policy positions of media and other stakeholders change, this can facilitate a promotion of harm prevention policies.