Public Health

Expansion of Casinos Increases the Risk of Children Becoming Addicted Gamblers Later On in Life

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This study commissioned by the British Columbia Lottery Corporation shows a link between a parent’s gambling activity and their child’s attitude toward and participation in gambling.

“Youth who report that their parents have gambled in the past year have a significantly higher participation in various gambling activities than youth who report that their parents have not gambled in the past 12 months,” the paper stated.

An addictions psychiatrist Shao-Hua Lu says the expansion of casinos increases the risk of children becoming gamblers later on in life. According to Lu, the likelihood of a person developing a gambling problem as an adult is directly related to their parents’ gambling habits. “It’s no different from how increasing smoking exposure increases subsequent likelihood of smoking addiction.”

Decoding British Columbian Youth and Gambling

LesExpansion of Casinos Increases the Risk of Children Becoming Addicted Gamblers Later On in Life
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Study finds that disadvantaged youth may be more likely to become problem gamblers

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This article from The Baltimore Sun summarizes the findings of a new study from Johns Hopkins University that concluded that disadvantaged youth have a higher propensity to become problem gamblers, due in part to their increased level of participation in betting on dice in the streets or betting on sports games, which serves as a gateway to more serious, problem gambling when they are allowed in a casino. These discoveries come on the heels of an increased casino and gambling presence in Maryland, where the study took place.

Disadvantaged urban youth may be more likely to be problem gamblers

LesStudy finds that disadvantaged youth may be more likely to become problem gamblers
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Casino data can be used to spot and prevent problem gambling….but casinos purposely don’t do it

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According to this article from The Wall Street Journal, the same data casinos use to track customers’ gambling habits can be used to identify gambling addicts. Casino customer-tracking information could create computerized models that can spot and warn people with high risk profiles. But what do casino operators, who extract more than half their profits from addicts, think of the idea? “I think it’s a terrible idea,” said former Caesars head Gary Loveman.

Researchers Bet Casino Data Can Identify Gambling Addicts

LesCasino data can be used to spot and prevent problem gambling….but casinos purposely don’t do it
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Link found between problem gambling and family violence

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A new study by the Problem Gambling Research and Treatment Centre at the University of Melbourne, Australia shows a strong link between problem gambling and familial violence. Fifty-three percent of problem gamblers reported some form of family violence in the past 12 months and Forty-four percent reported victimization in the home. These disturbing numbers show yet another effect of problem gambling, and shows further why more commercialized gambling isn’t a good thing. This HealthCanal study summarizes the study’s findings.

Problem gambling and family violence strongly linked says new study

LesLink found between problem gambling and family violence
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Internet sweepstakes cafes designed to addict

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Nearly two-thirds of gambling addicts at Maryhaven, an addiction-treatment center in Columbus, Ohio, point to Internet cafe gambling as the root of their problem. Internet cafes, officially banned but up for referendum vote in November, allow players to buy time on machines that feel like real poker or slot machines. The problem that many problem gamblers find is that they are often so much closer than a real casino, thus making them more tempting. Unlike casinos, which have to give a portion of profits back to the community by law, these machines benefit only the operator. Internet cafes have all the same addictive qualities as a casino, but are much more convenient and easy to access, which is why this Columbus Dispatch editorial calls for their permanent ban from the state of Ohio.

2013 Hooked by design

LesInternet sweepstakes cafes designed to addict
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Embezzlement is on the rise as problem gambling grows

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As this article by the Observer-Reporter explains, many white-collar workers with access to tens of thousands of dollars of company funds embezzle this money to fund their gambling addictions. It’s a growing problem in Pennsylvania, and shows how problem gambling drives some to break the law to fuel their addiction.

2014 Embezzlement a growing trend with problem gamblers

LesEmbezzlement is on the rise as problem gambling grows
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How gambling addictions lead to embezzlement and other crime

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This article from Post-Crescent Media recounts examples of how regular, everyday, law-abiding citizens can turn into embezzling criminals when their gambling addictions drive them to do so. In one case, an employee embezzled a half of a million dollars to finance her gambling from the Wisconsin non-profit Goodwill Industries. It just goes to show what happens to the conscience of an average person when they develop a gambling addiction.

2013 Gambling addictions fuel large-scale embezzlements

LesHow gambling addictions lead to embezzlement and other crime
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Why adolescents are biologically more susceptible to problem gambling

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This study, from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows a biological breakdown of how adolescents’ brains make them more likely to be problem gamblers.  This is because the brain of an adolescent places a greater value on rewards than does that of an adult, a developmental effect that causes more adventurous risk-taking in adolescents, which can lead to problem gambling. This thorough study explains the science behind why kids shouldn’t gamble.

2014 Neural representation of expected value in the adolescent brain

LesWhy adolescents are biologically more susceptible to problem gambling
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Study spotlights the link between homelessness and problem gambling

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Researchers at the University of Cambridge in England have found that homeless people are ten times more likely to be problem gamblers than non-homeless people. While many studies have been done examining the link between homelessness and alcohol or drug usage, this is one of the first to consider how homelessness affects one’s propensity to have a gambling addiction. This article summarizes the study’s findings.

2014 New study reveals scale of problem gambling among homeless population

LesStudy spotlights the link between homelessness and problem gambling
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College students and problem gambling

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This study, made for the Iowa Department of Public Health, examined the relationship between college students and problem gambling. After using both qualitative and quantitative data, the study concluded that almost 70% of college students gambled in the past year, and about one in ten met at least DSM-IV criterion for potential problem or pathological gambling, a disturbing figure that presents real concerns for America’s future. Below is a copy of the study, which is detailed and informative, and sheds light on the future of American problem gambling.

2014 Pilot Study of Gambling Attitudes and Behaviors Among Iowa College Students

LesCollege students and problem gambling
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