Let's Help Problem Gamblers
Posted: July 25, 2008
Let me begin by making it clear: The gaming industry is committed to working with researchers, treatment professionals, government agencies, and others who share our commitment to reducing the harms associated with problem gambling. All of the major companies in our industry have for years taken this approach, instituting extensive responsible gaming programs. We all agree that one problem gambler is one too many.
In addition to individual company initiatives, the industry has worked together on this issue, providing, among many other things, $22 million since 1996 to fund research and public education on disordered gambling, committing to a Code of Conduct for Responsible Gaming and establishing education programs to help our employees and patrons.
This Real Deal shows that the relationship between the availability of gambling and the prevalence of gambling problems is not a simple hydraulic one. The fact is, conventional wisdom on this subject turns out not to be particularly wise.
As you can see from the chart in this Real Deal, three decades of research show that, despite the dramatic growth in access to casinos (the chart doesn’t even include Native American casinos) and an increase in casino visitors from 9.7 percent of the U.S. adult population in 1974 to 25 percent in 2007, the prevalence of problem gambling has remained stable, and confined to a predictably small percentage of American adults.
That’s right. The percentage of problem gamblers has held steady, in spite of a manifold increase in casinos, slot machines and lottery tickets.
The resources spent on determining the prevalence of disordered gambling behavior have helped us understand the magnitude of the problem.
Now that we know its scope, let’s focus on finding solutions that will help public health workers develop and implement effective programs and treatments to prevent and reduce the harm done by problem gambling. To do that, as Howard Shaffer, of the Harvard Medical School and the Division on Addictions, Cambridge Health Alliance, has explained, scientists need to improve the models and tools that will lead to a better understanding of gambling-related problems. Just as we have been for many years, we in the casino gaming industry remain committed to doing our part to help.
