NCRG Hosts Third Annual Conference
The challenge of defining and diagnosing problem gambling is the topic of the 2001 conference of the National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG). Cosponsored by the Institute for Research on Pathological Gambling and Related Disorders at Harvard Medical School's Division on Addictions and the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling, the conference will be held Dec. 2-4, 2001, at The Mirage Casino-Hotel in Las Vegas. "Toward Meaningful Diagnosis of Gambling Disorders: From Theory to Practice" will be a forum for researchers, treatment providers, gaming industry personnel, gaming regulators, public policy makers and others to debate the changing definition of disordered gambling behavior.
How to define pathological gambling is a fundamental issue that affects how we identify, measure, diagnose and treat the disorder. The conference speakers, representing the leading scientists in the field, will tackle questions such as: Why is there dissatisfaction with the current definition? How different are adolescents from adults in terms of identifying the disorder? Does the current definition of pathological gambling in the DSM-IV work for ethnic and racial minorities in the United States? How will new advances in neuroscience (such as brain imaging) shape our definition of pathological gambling?
Employees of gaming companies are especially welcome to attend the conference. The registration fee of $195 will be waived for employees from companies that have contributed to the NCRG. For more information and registration procedures, visit www.hms.harvard.edu/doa/ and click on "Institute for Research on Pathological Gambling and Related Disorders." Or, call Christine Reilly at the Institute (617-432-0297).
For employees who want to hear highlights from the conference, a presentation will be held Tuesday, Dec. 4, from noon to 1:30 p.m. at The Mirage (room TBA). Dr. Howard Shaffer, director of the Division on Addictions at Harvard Medical School, will focus on the implications of the conference theme for the gaming industry. Box lunches may be reserved for $25 per person. To make reservations for the luncheon, contact Aleasha Herdina at the NCRG (816-453-9964).
