GAMBUSE: the project to protect athletes
•
18 Dec 2025 •
Reading time: 3 minutes The GAMBUSE project has just received major funding from the Foundation for Scientific Research in Flanders (FWO), paving the way for largely unexplored research into gambling-related abuse of athletes on digital platforms.
Strategic funding for a growing social issue
The Foundation for Scientific Research in Flanders has officially approved 578,230 euros in funding for the GAMBUSE project. This is a substantial sum, allocated to a research programme that will run from 2026 to 2029 and focus on an issue that has become central to contemporary sport: online abuse linked to gambling practices.
This decision marks strong institutional recognition. The FWO supports scientific projects that are deemed to be a priority for society, following a rigorous evaluation process. In granting these funds, the organisation recognises both the seriousness of the phenomenon being studied and the lack of solid scientific knowledge on the subject.
The project is based on a worrying observation. In many sports, sporting performances have a direct influence on punters’ financial gains or losses. This proximity creates fertile ground for violent reactions, often immediate, when results do not match expectations. But who really measures the extent of this abuse? And above all, what are the mechanisms behind it?
Despite the rapid growth of this phenomenon in all types of sport, it remains largely understudied. Few reliable data exist, and athletes’ accounts are still too often isolated or treated as news items.
An academic team rooted in sports research
The GAMBUSE project is led by Professor Bram Constandt, a specialist in sports management at Ghent University, and researcher Lauranna Teunissen. Their collaboration is part of a tradition of interdisciplinary research, combining sports science, communication science and the analysis of interpersonal violence.
Both share the same conviction: sport cannot be analysed solely from the point of view of performance or economics. It is also a social space, exposed to tensions, abuses and new forms of violence generated by digital technology and the financialisation of competitions.
In the coming months, the team will be recruiting a PhD student to lead a core part of the research. This post is aimed at people with expertise in interpersonal violence, communication sciences, sports management or gambling studies.
A strong signal from European research
The financial support granted by the FWO goes beyond the scope of a simple academic project. It sends out a clear message: violence linked to gambling and digital technology is a major social issue that deserves an ambitious scientific response.
In a context where sport is increasingly exposed to commercial logic and digital interactions, GAMBUSE is a pioneering project. It is a reminder that sporting performance cannot be dissociated from the protection of the men and women who make it possible.