Australians Search for Visible Cues of Problem Gambling
In November, the Ministerial Council on Gambling of Australia released a research study that attempts to identify visible behaviors of gamblers that demonstrate that an individual is a problem gambler. Available through the Gambling Research Australia Web site, http://www.gamblingresearch.org.au, the report lists 52 indicators of problem gambling behavior for possible inclusion in training of casino floor employees. The report argues that if compulsive gamblers can be identified by simple observation, then compulsive gambling can be stopped as it is occurs.
The Australian study was conducted in four stages. The first three involved surveys conducted of (i) more than 120 casino floor employees, (ii) more than 700 regular gamblers, and (iii) 15 counselors with compulsive gambling clients. Each group was asked whether a variety of actions by gamblers are associated, in their experience, with compulsive gambling. The study’s final step involved direct observation of gambler behavior for approximately 140 hours at various casino venues.
The researchers placed the 52 potential indicators into seven groups. They stressed that only a few such indicators might be reliable enough to provide the sole basis for a conclusion that a patron is a compulsive gambler. If several different indicators are present, though, the researchers suggest that a casino would be justified in intervening to halt the patron’s presumably compulsive gambling. The seven groups of indicators were:
- Frequency, duration and intensity of gambling– Gambling every day, gambling for long periods with no break, gambling more than $300 in a session, failing to react to surrounding events, playing fast, betting large amounts, and playing after winning "without even stopping to listen to the music or jingle" on the machine
- Impaired control – Stopping gambling only when the facility closes and doing so reluctantly, gambling through meal times, and starting gambling at opening time
- Social behaviors – Trying to conceal one's identity, rudeness to staff, no interaction with others, and aggressive demands to play a favorite machine
- Raising funds/Chasing behavior – Visiting an ATM two or more times per gambling session, changing large notes at the gambling venue, borrowing money from others at the venue, asking for credit, having no money left when departing the venue, and using the coin machine at least four times
- Emotional responses – Shaking, sweating, looking nervous, displays of anger, looking sad, physical abuse of machines, crying, repeated groaning while gambling, and mood swings while gambling
- Irrational attributions – Blaming machines or casino for losses, complaining about losses, swearing at machines or staff about losses, and compulsively rubbing belly of a machine or screen while playing
- Other – Gambling while drunk, avoiding cashiers, and allowing personal grooming to decline over several days.
The report admits two limitations in trying to use this list. First, many of these observations would need to be made over extended periods of time, which would require additional staff at many venues. Second, the casino staff in the survey expressed uncertainty over how to conduct an intervention with a gambler who displayed multiple indicators. The report proposes additional training on that subject.
A third concern, which was not articulated by the Australian researchers, is the risk that these indicators would generate many "false positives" – identifying individuals as "problem gamblers" who are not. Most prevalence studies estimate that less than 1 percent to 1.5 percent of adults meet diagnostic criteria for the most severe form of gambling disorders. Yet the report highlights a variety of behaviors that are common and unreliable as indicators of compulsive gambling, and if enforced rigidly would lead to interventions with more than 1 to 1.5 percent of casino patrons.
