About MPU

Professor David Kerr Forrest is a professor of Economics in the University of Salford, which is the base for one of the most influential groups of gaming research centres outside the United States. Focussed on research that applies economic and econometric analysis to the sports and leisure and gambling sectors, Professor Forrest is an applied economist and econometrician highly recognized in the field of world gaming research.

Professor Forrest obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Liverpool, a Master of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Manchester, and a PhD degree in Economics from the University of Western Ontario. His academic life began at the McMaster University where he served as a visiting lecturer in Economics for two years. After that, he was successively appointed as a lecturer at the University of Liverpool, the University of Manchester, and the University of Salford, where he later became Reader in Economics for three years.

Professor Forrest has actively engaged himself in various research projects and surveys, providing consultancy services to different institutions. In the past 10 years, he has undertaken 20 such projects, working on topics including child gambling in the UK, the threat from betting to the integrity of sport, how to evaluate the evolving impact of a new generation of casinos, a statistical model for forecasting football results, the fairness of the Lotto Extra game, the fairness of the Thunderball game, and time-series modelling of bettor behaviour.

In terms of research output, since 1999 Professor Forrest has published/co-authored 43 refereed journal papers, 16 book chapters and several official reports in the areas of sports economics and gambling studies.