The purpose of this qualitative study was threefold:
- to describe the life context of Hispanic individuals residing in Springfield, Massachusetts, and its relevance towards mitigating problem gambling;
- to find ways to incorporate the voices of Hispanics, a group disproportionately impacted by problem gambling in the design of evidence-based interventions, and
- to propose a theoretical approach aligned with the way contextual life factors influence problem gambling.
Informed by the community-based participatory research (CBPR), a longstanding anthropological and sociological approach, this study zeroed in on the participants’ lived experiences; participants were considered subject matter experts, and thus their opinions and experiences were vital elements to inform future research. Participants’ statements and viewpoints do not imply causality but invite the reader to explore new alternatives to longstanding streams of research that do not include these perspectives.