Journal profile · Arts and Humanities-Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
Critical Gambling Studies
ISSN 2563-190X · University of Alberta Library · Canada
Critical Gambling Studies: diamond open access (no APC); no APC; review about 52 weeks (community reports); 16 articles in 2025; indexed in Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Critical Gambling Studies is published by University of Alberta Library. By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Gambling Behavior and Treatments, Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes and Digital Games and Media, together about 55.8% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Critical Gambling Studies (CGS) is an international journal established in 2019 to publish disciplinary and interdisciplinary research on gambling. It aims to address urgent questions raised by the social, technological, legal, and cultural entanglements of contemporary gambling. The open access, double-anonymous, peer-reviewed journal is published bi-annually. We are open to different theoretical frameworks and methodological traditions, including: phenomenology; ethnography; meta-analysis and big data analytics; Black studies, critical race, and Indigenous studies; critical disability studies; science and technology studies (STS); conjunctural analysis; experimental studies; survey methods; fieldwork; semiotic analysis; psychoanalysis; political economy; narrative analysis; statistical analysis and quantitative methods; and archival research. We welcome original research and writing from researchers working in disciplines including: philosophy, psychology, anthropology, sociology, politics, criminology, information science, aesthetics, history, economics, literature, theology, art history, architecture, tourism and leisure studies, public health, and law. We are also keen to consider interdisciplinary approaches to gambling research within an activist tradition. Our focus is primarily on original research in the humanities and social sciences (including law and policy studies), but we welcome accessible and critical work in medicine, life sciences, environmental sciences, and other disciplines. While we warmly welcome critical and original work on gambling addictions, including that which interrogates concepts and measures of disordered or pathological gambling, we are keen to move beyond addiction research as the primary focus of gambling studies. The Editors welcome proposals for special issues on current themes within gambling studies.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Arts and Humanities-Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Canada 15, United Kingdom 5, Australia 5, United States 3, Macau, China 2 (39 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Gambling Behavior and TreatmentsPsychology41.4%
- Substance Abuse Treatment and OutcomesMedicine7.7%
- Digital Games and MediaSocial Sciences6.7%
- Physical Education and Sports StudiesSocial Sciences4.9%
- Global Public Health Policies and EpidemiologyBusiness, Management and Accounting4.2%
- Indigenous Health, Education, and RightsSocial Sciences3.2%
- Regulation and Compliance StudiesBusiness, Management and Accounting2.8%
- Indigenous Cultures and HistorySocial Sciences2.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CiteScore quartiles (Scopus, June 2026 release)
| Subject | Quartile | Rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous) | Q2 | 176/692 | — |
| Social Sciences (miscellaneous) | Q2 | 288/744 | — |
Scopus ranks journals by CiteScore within each subject: the 75th percentile and above is Q1, then a quartile every 25 points. A different system from the CAS zones.LetPub
Database indexing
ScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.33LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.45LetPub ·
- h-index
- 8OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 6OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.1OpenAlex ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 129 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 6 | 6 | 70 |
| 2025 | 16 | 16 | 57 |
| 2024 | 18 | 18 | 48 |
| 2023 | 11 | 11 | 61 |
| 2022 | 26 | 26 | 47 |
| 2021 | 34 | 34 | 22 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 52 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 52 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Diamond open access (no APC)DOAJ
Every article is open access and authors pay no article processing charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | No APC | No | CC BY, CC BY-SA, CC BY-ND, CC BY-NC, CC BY-NC-SA, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| LetPub | No APC | No | — |
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Other fees
- No other fees
- Page charges
- No page charges
- Submission fee
- No submission fee
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare10 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 200 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 4
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 8,000 words
- Reference style
- APA
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Highlights
- Optional
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Required
- Not considered
- Funding or support from gambling industry actors
Article types accepted7, with length limits
- book reviewhould be sent to dgbaxter@lakeheadu.ca. Book reviews are typically 1,000–1,500 words. CGS Blog Non-peer-reviewed blog entries are published on tmain text ≤ 1,500 words
- book reviewsBook Reviews Critical Gambling Studies publishes edited reviews of recent academic books on gambling. Reviews are solicited by the Book Reviews Editor, but prop…Length not stated
- cgs blogCGS Blog Non-peer-reviewed blog entries are published on the journal website and the interactive blog. If you are interested submitting a CGS Blog post, please …Length not stated
- commentarystill follow APA (7th Edition) format. Commentary articles are typically 1,000–2,000 words, inclusive of abstract and references. Book Reviews Criticamain text ≤ 2,000 words
- original researchOriginal Research Articles (Peer-Reviewed)Critical Gambling Studies welcomes high quality original research and knowledge syntheses from a wide array of discipl…Length not stated
- original research articleOriginal Research Articles (Peer-Reviewed)Critical Gambling Studies welcomes high quality original research and knowledge syntheses from a wide array of discipl…Length not stated
- original research articles (peer-reviewed)Original Research Articles (Peer-Reviewed) Critical Gambling Studies welcomes high quality original research and knowledge syntheses from a wide array of discip…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- AI use Disclosure of AI Use in Manuscript
Disclosure of generative AI or machine learning tool use required before submission. Model summary
As part of our policy regarding the use of generative artificial intelligence and machine learning tools in our Governance Standards, we require the disclosure of the use of generative AI or machine learning tools before submission.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Disclosure of AI Use in Manuscript
Funding statement for previous three years required; gambling industry funding normally disqualifies paper unless editors accept a case of independence. Model summary
As part of our policy regarding the use of generative artificial intelligence and machine learning tools in our Governance Standards, we require the disclosure of the use of generative AI or machine learning tools before submission.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data Sharing
In keeping with our Open Access principles, CGS also believes in open sharing of research data. Authors submitting their research to CGS are encouraged to deposit their data in a research data repository and to cite and link to their data in their submission. CGS is unable to provide support for data deposition but will include a data availability statement with the article upon publication. The a…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Publication Ethics Policies
The everyday operations of CGS follow the guidelines and are informed by the case studies of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), an international and interdisciplinary organization committed to fostering academic integrity and transparency in Open Access Journal publishing. More information about CGS's governance and ethical policies is available on the Governance Standards page. Conflicts…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright Notice
Default license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0; authors retain copyright with first publication rights granted to the journal. Model summary
Unless otherwise indicated, works are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Authors retain copyright of their work, with first publication rights granted to Critical Gambling Studies. Refer to the Open Access Policy on the About the Journal page for information about alternative CC licensing.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open Access Policy (including APC)
Diamond open access; no submission or publication charges; articles under Creative Commons license. Model summary
Critical Gambling Studies is a diamond open-access journal, meaning that authors will never be charged to submit or publish a manuscript through Critical Gambling Studies. All articles are made available under a Creative Commons license, as indicated in the Copyright Notice at the bottom of the Submission guidelines.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review The Peer-Review Process
We encourage you to nominate up to three potential reviewers for the editor to take into consideration. These should be individuals whom you judge to have relevant expertise in the topic your manuscript addresses and with whom you have no conflict of interest. These individuals must be able to provide an arms-length peer review and not know the identity of the author from the manuscript. It cannot…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- University of Alberta Library
- Country or region
- Canada
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2563-190X
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 7, Issue 1 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Critical Gambling Studies
How long does peer review take at Critical Gambling Studies?
Authors report an average review time of about 52 weeks. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Critical Gambling Studies?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 200 words; Keywords: ≥ 4; Manuscript length: ≤ 8,000 words; Reference style: APA; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Optional; Highlights: Optional; Graphical abstract: Optional; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Critical Gambling Studies based?
Of the 39 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Canada (15), United Kingdom (5) and Australia (5). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Critical Gambling Studies?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Critical Gambling Studies is indexed in Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Critical Gambling Studies open access, and what is the APC?
Critical Gambling Studies is a diamond open-access journal (no APC). It charges no article processing charge.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .