Sari Castren

Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Finland

Title: Lower Risk Gambling Guidelines - Feasibility, Acceptability and Applicability within the Finnish Context

---

Biography

I am a Research Manager at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), where I lead and contribute to research on behavioural addictions, their prevention, treatment, and public health impacts. I hold the title of Associate Professor at the University of Turku (Faculty of Social Sciences) and the University of Helsinki (Faculty of Medicine).

My research spans a wide spectrum of behavioural addictions, including gambling, gaming, problematic social media use, and related emerging digital behaviours. My work combines epidemiological research, intervention development, and treatment evaluation, with a particular focus on developing evidence-based support services for individuals experiencing addiction-related harms and their affected others. I am actively involved in large-scale population studies, prevention initiatives, and the translation of research findings into policy and practice.

I am also a licensed clinical psychologist and trainer, providing professional education in motivational interviewing (MI) and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) within the addiction field.

Abstract

The Lower-Risk Gambling Guidelines (LRGG) represent an important advance in translating empirical evidence on gambling-related harm into clear public health guidance. Developed in Canada through extensive multi-method research, the LRGGs provide evidence-based thresholds for g expenditure, frequency, and breadth of participation associated with reduced risk of gambling-related harm. As they are disseminated internationally, effective implementation requires consideration of language differences, cultural norms, and regulatory contexts. This presentation examines the feasibility, acceptability, and applicability of adapting the LRGG to the Finnish environment.

Finland offers a distinctive setting for guideline adaptation due to its individualized financial norms, comprehensive population-level gambling data, and ongoing regulatory changes. A challenge in adapting the Canadian LRGG was use of household gross income as the basis for the expenditure threshold. Drawing on Finnish quantitative and qualitative research, we describe the rationale for modifying expenditure limits from 1% of annual household income to 2% of personal net income. This adjustment improves cultural resonance, enhances clarity for individuals who gamble, and aligns with existing Finnish survey practices, while remaining conservative and consistent with the original evidence base.

The Finnish adaptation demonstrates that empirical fidelity and contextual flexibility are compatible in public health guideline development. By maintaining the underlying harm-risk logic while improving interpretability and acceptability, the adapted LRGGs are more likely to support uptake and preventive impact. This case illustrates the importance of cultural adaptation and evidence translation and provides a model for how the LRGGs can be adapted across diverse jurisdictions without undermining their scientific foundation.