Health Inc. Seminar Series 3.4
The gambling industry, the production of ignorance and resistance to policy
Seminar 3.4
The gambling industry, the production of ignorance and resistance to policy
March 14, 2024 | 12 PM – 1 PM | Online via Zoom
Featuring Dr. May Van Schalkwyk, PhD, NIHR Doctoral Fellow at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
About this seminar:
The talk will introduce the gambling industry as a commercial determinant of health. Using the UK as a case study, the presentation will examine how and why gambling industry-favourable policy systems emerge and the strategies used by the gambling industry to resist policy change that threaten its commercial interests. This will involve examining the role of the production of ignorance and the public health implications of these strategies and what can done to support the type of policy change that is needed to protect people from the products and practices of the gambling industry.
Dr. May Van Schalkwyk, worked in the fields of malaria and cell-based immunotherapy research, HIV medicine, lung oncology and translational medicine before transitioning into the field of public health medicine and research. May’s research aims to forward understanding on how commercial and structural determinants affect health and health equity and how the activities of corporate actors influence ideas, knowledge, public discourse, and policy debates. She has published research on the tobacco, alcohol, gambling, and firearms industries, including on the activities of industry formed and funded organisations. In 2023, she completed a PhD on UK gambling policy and the industry as a NIHR Doctoral Fellow at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.