The Self-Exclusion Experience for Problem Gamblers in South Australia

Abstract

Increased prevalence of problem gambling has accompanied the spread of gaming venues in many parts of the world. One intervention to minimise the impact of harmful patterns of gambling behaviours is self-exclusion, where patrons can elect to ban themselves from a gaming venue or its gaming facilities for a specified time period. While self-exclusion programs are widely available, little research has been conducted into their operations and efficacy, particularly from the self-excluders’ perspective. This paper presents findings from 35 survey responses and 23 interviews with gamblers who had self-excluded through a centralised service in South Australia. They identified key program shortcomings as low publicity, limits on how many venues they could self-bar from, and inadequate venue monitoring for breaches of self-barring orders. Nevertheless, the centralised service, staffed by trained psychologists and located away from gaming venues, which allows multiple venue barring in one application, appeared advantageous over programs that require people to self-exclude directly from individual gaming venues. Most respondents (85%) had ceased or lessened their gambling in the 12 months following self-barring. Nevertheless, some continued to struggle to manage their gambling, reflected in breaches of their orders and gambling in venues from which they were not excluded.     

Impact of the Format,Arrangement and Availability of Electronic Gaming Machines Outside Casinos on Gambling

Abstract

This study evaluates the influence of the format, arrangement and availability of Electronic Gaming Machines Outside Casinos (EGMOC) on gambling behaviour and perceptions. Two studies comprising occasional, at-risk and probable pathological gamblers were conducted. The first study used focus groups, while the second was conducted in a laboratory setting reproducing a bar. The results of the former study indicate that while format does not influence gambling behaviours, the arrangement of EGMOC in a gambling setting is a critical factor: in general, gamblers perceive isolated areas in a gambling venue as a factor contributing to impaired control. However, behavioural results obtained in the laboratory setting do not corroborate subjective data. Finally, gamblers suggested almost unanimously that the availability of EGMOC should be limited to a small number of sites. The results are discussed in the perspective of responsible gambling policies.     

Web-Based Support for Program Planning and Research

Abstract

Recent advances have made a variety of instant communication technologies widely available to human service researchers. The authors describe one such technology, electronic mail networks, and illustrate both its advantages and disadvantages in improving applied research collaboration within the human services.     

An empirical study of sex differences in gaming machine play among club members

Abstract

This paper helps address a deficiency of gender specific research into gambling. Using predominantly non‐parametric tests, the paper analyses data from 1,257 female and 1,743 male respondents in a telephone survey of 3,000 members selected randomly from six large Sydney clubs. The results support female gambling stereotypes of lower individual bets and lower overall expenditure, but not of lower participation and frequency of play, and shorter duration of gambling sessions. Further, regular female gaming machine players appear more likely than non‐regular female players to be migrants, either young or old, and from lower socio‐economic groups. Regular female gaming machine players also appear to forgo the social side of playing machines, to spend more overall and to be more at risk of problem gambling than non‐regular female players. Finally, the distinguishing socio‐demographic characteristics and machine playing behaviours of regular male gaming machine players are very similar to those for regular female gaming machine players.     

Too close to home? The relationships between residential distance to venue and gambling outcomes

Although gambling accessibility is generally viewed as a multidimensional construct, few studies have successfully untangled the specific role of spatial accessibility in determining gambling outcomes relative to other forms (i.e. temporal, social and psychological). In this paper, we explore the association between gambling outcomes and the distance travelled from a person's home to their most-frequented gambling venue. To this end, we conducted a geocoded mail survey of 7044 households in the Northern Territory of Australia. We employed a geographic information system to calculate the network distance from each household to all visited electronic gaming machine (EGM) venues (n = 64). Multivariate regression modelling revealed that, when adjusted for individual and neighbourhood-level characteristics, frequency of venue visitation and gambling participation were inversely related to residential distance from venue. There was no additional distance effect for problem gambling. Spatial accessibility of EGMs is an important determinant of gambling risk and should be explicitly considered by regulators.     

Par for the course: A study of gambling on the links and a commentary on physical skill‐based gambling formats

Abstract

A widely practiced but understudied gambling activity is the wagering that occurs between participants in games of physical skill. Little is known about what draws players to this form of gambling, the sub‐groups involved or their social dynamics, the strategies employed, and whether, and to what extent, this activity is associated with disordered gambling.

Gamblers were studied in their natural environment at two private golf clubs. Prominent themes emerging from the research include: motivations for gambling on golf, socialisation into golf course gambling, the golf course betting hierarchy, deceptive practices and evidence of disordered gambling. In general, the golf course wagering we investigated embraced several unique features and traditions that generally make it a salutary gambling experience, largely free of the destructive elements associated with luck‐based gambling formats. The study's findings are utilised to make observations about other gambling formats and gamblers in general.     

Venue Staff Knowledge of Their Patrons’ Gambling and Problem Gambling

In several jurisdictions around the world, venue staff are encouraged to make reasonable attempts to determine whether patrons may be experiencing problems associated with their gambling. Although a number of visible indicators and behaviours are recognised as being indicative of gambling problems, no research has investigated how effective staff might be in identifying problem gamblers in venues. The aim of this field test was to examine the level of patron familiarity amongst staff working in small to moderate-sized venues. Patrons (n = 303) were asked to complete a short survey including the Problem Gambling Severity Index and venue staff were asked to describe their knowledge of the same patrons independently. The results showed that patrons rated as more at risk by staff scored significantly higher on the PGSI, but that point-in-time staff ratings were not sufficiently accurate to allow effective identification of problem gamblers. The importance of using accumulated information over multiple sessions as well as technological monitoring of behaviour was emphasised by these results.     

On Doing Research in a Clinical Setting

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of a stand-alone personalized normative feedback (PNF) intervention targeting misperceptions of gambling among college students. Participants: Undergraduates (N = 136; 55% male) who reported gambling in the past 30 days were recruited between September 2011 and March 2012. Methods: Using a randomized clinical trial design, participants were assigned to receive either PNF or an attention control task. In addition to self-report, this study used 2 computer-based risk tasks framed as “gambling opportunities” to assess cognitive and behavioral change at 1 week post intervention. Results: After 1 week, participants receiving PNF showed a marked decrease in perception of other students’ gambling, and evinced lower risk-taking performance on 2 analog measures of gambling. Conclusions: Changes in both self-reported perceived norms and analog gambling behavior suggest that a single, stand-alone PNF intervention may modify gambling among college students. Whether it can impact gambling outside of the laboratory remains untested.     

The emergence of problem gambling as a corporate social issue in australia 1

Abstract

Commercial gambling has recently expanded exponentially in Australia such that annual gambling losses now total over $12 billion dollars, representing $886 per adult and 3.4 percent of household disposable income (Tasmanian Gaming Commission 2000). In tandem with this expansion, problem gambling has emerged as a significant social issue. This paper documents how the epistemic community, governments, gambling operators and pressure groups have advanced this issue by tracking their changing stances and the widening expectational gaps between them. It develops an integrated lifecycle model of problem gambling to demonstrate how these four stakeholders have propelled the issue along its lifecycle to the point where resolving it requires substantial alterations in how gambling is operated, marketed, and managed.     

Enhancing Appearance and Sports Performance: Are Female Collegiate Athletes Behaving More Like Males?

Objective: The authors investigated behavioral indicators of pathological gambling in a college student sample. Participants and Methods: The authors administered a diagnostic interview for pathological gambling to 159 college students, who also completed a demographic questionnaire, and a self-report measure of psychological distress. Results: Consistent patterns of gambling behavior associated with pathological gambling included gambling more than 1.2 times per month, gambling more than 2.1 hours per month, intending to wager more than 6.1% of monthly income, and wagering more than 10.5% of monthly income. In addition, the combination of psychological distress, gambling frequency, and a history of parental gambling problems was significantly associated with pathological gambling in college students. Conclusions: These findings suggest initial markers of problematic gambling behavior in a college sample that may be used in assessment, prevention, and intervention.     

Gambling and Alcohol Use: Trends in the State of New Mexico from 1996–1998

Alcohol consumption and its relationship to gambling was examined in a statewide New Mexico survey in 1996 and 1998. Data regarding both drinking habits and gambling behavior were obtained from a stratified random sample of the adult population (N = 2674) across the entire State of New Mexico via phone survey. These surveys were carried out shortly after a period when New Mexico experienced an initial surge in the legalized gaming industry. Fifty-seven percent of survey respondents reported drinking in the past month, while 43.1% reported no drinking in the past 30 days. Results show that while the number of days in the past 30 that a person drinks is significantly correlated with some types of gambling behavior (e.g., in 1998, drinking more days was associated with more card gambling and sports gambling), it is the amount of alcohol consumed per occasion that is associated with more gambling behavior. For example, in both 1996 and 1998, drinking more per occasion was associated with more sports betting, dice gambling, number/lottery gambling, gambling using machines, and paper game gambling (e.g., pull tabs, punchboard). These results suggest that problem gambling behavior is not affected as much by the number of occasions on which one consumes alcohol, as by the amount of alcohol consumed per occasion.     

The Development of a Multi-dimensional Gambling Accessibility Scale

The aim of the current study was to develop a scale of gambling accessibility that would have theoretical significance to exposure theory and also serve to highlight the accessibility risk factors for problem gambling. Scale items were generated from the Productivity Commission’s (Australia’s Gambling Industries: Report No. 10. AusInfo, Canberra, 1999) recommendations and tested on a group with high exposure to the gambling environment. In total, 533 gaming venue employees (aged 18–70 years; 67% women) completed a questionnaire that included six 13-item scales measuring accessibility across a range of gambling forms (gaming machines, keno, casino table games, lotteries, horse and dog racing, sports betting). Also included in the questionnaire was the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) along with measures of gambling frequency and expenditure. Principal components analysis indicated that a common three factor structure existed across all forms of gambling and these were labelled social accessibility, physical accessibility and cognitive accessibility. However, convergent validity was not demonstrated with inconsistent correlations between each subscale and measures of gambling behaviour. These results are discussed in light of exposure theory and the further development of a multi-dimensional measure of gambling accessibility.     

Comparisons of Gambling and Alcohol Use Among College Students and Noncollege Young People in the United States

Abstract

Objective: Gambling and alcohol use were compared for college and noncollege young adults in the US population. Participants: Participants were 1,000 respondents aged 18 to 21. Methods: Data were analyzed from a representative household sample of US young people aged 14 to 21 years old. Telephone interviews were conducted between August 2005 and January 2007. Results: After taking into account gender, age, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, college student status did not predict gambling, frequent gambling, or problem gambling. In contrast, being a college student was associated with higher levels of alcohol use and problem drinking. Being male was the strongest predictor of both problem gambling and problem drinking. Blacks were less likely than whites to drink heavily; yet they were more likely than whites to gamble heavily. Conclusion: Young males should be targeted for prevention and intervention efforts for both problem gambling and problem drinking regardless of college student status.     

Youth gambling in Melbourne's west: Changes between 1996 and 1998 for Anglo‐European background and Asian background school‐based youth 26

Abstract

In this study of gambling frequency and problem gambling in school‐based young people from the western suburbs of Melbourne, 710 students from Years 10, 11 and 12 were surveyed in 1996, and 776 students from the same years and from the same schools were surveyed in 1998. The mean age of both cohorts was 16.3 years. The major aim of the study was to assess changes in youth gambling patterns over this two‐year period. A second aim was to compare gambling patterns among Asian youth in comparison with their Anglo‐European counterparts. Results indicated that gambling frequency (including use of poker machines) had significantly reduced over the two‐year period, as had problem gambling. Contrary to the stereotype, young Asian background students were less likely to gamble than Anglo‐European students, spent less money on gambling, but paradoxically, scored higher on the problem gambling scale. Possible reasons for this anomalous finding were discussed.     

Environmental Factors in the Choice of EGMs: A Discrete Choice Experiment

EGMs are a form of entertainment, and the gambling environment is an important contributor to the overall experience. Logically, to select a play-environment, EGM gamblers must choose the platform through which to access the EGM (e.g., internet, mobile application or land-based venue), a particular provider (e.g., specific website, app vendor or branded casino), and the game itself (e.g., based on graphical theme or bonus features; Thorne et al. in J Gambl Stud, 2016. doi: 10.1007/s10899-016-9601-2). A discrete choice experiment was conducted to identify the features of the platform, provider and game that are most strongly preferred by EGM gamblers. Participants were 245 EGM gamblers from clubs in Victoria, Australia and 7516 EGM gamblers from an Australian online panel. Results indicate that the ideal environment for the average gambler consists of: gambling at a club that is close to home; with a group of friends; in a relatively quiet place that has air conditioning, cheap food and a large space to play in; on a classic game with quality animations and small bet sizes; where you feel safe and secure; and where there is a wide variety of other games to play when you are done. Segmenting these results by problem-gambler status highlights important differences in preferences between problem and non-problem gamblers. Problem gamblers are less likely to give weight to the company they share and have a preference for larger venues. Using a powerful paradigm from marketing research, the present study was able to determine the relative value of different features of the EGM gambling environment, and also contributes important insight towards what constitutes a safer environment for recreational play.     

The making of the global gambling industry: An application and extension of field theory

The past two decades have seen a global convergence from gambling prohibition to legalization, but also a divergence regarding how new gambling industries are structured and regulated. This article compares two cases of casino legalization exhibiting different and, given conventional understandings of the two countries, unexpected outcomes. In the United States, ethnic entrepreneurs (Indian tribes) were granted a monopoly on casinos in California; in South Africa, the new ANC government legalized a competitive, corporate casino industry. Through explaining these disparate industry structurings, two arguments are advanced. First, Bourdieu's field theory best describes the interests and strategies of industry “players” as they attempted to shape policy. Second, Bourdieu neglects the independent role of institutions in mediating between field-level dynamics and concrete regulatory outcomes. In California, Tribes converted economic into political capital through a public election. In South Africa, the ANC used a centralized commission to implement corporate gambling over public opposition, in essence converting political into economic capital. By viewing policy domains as “dramaturgical prisms” whose sign–production tools and audiences facilitate certain but not other capital conversion projects, I both explain unexpected regulatory outcomes and synthesize field and political process theories. Jeffrey J. Sallaz received his Ph.D. from the University of California-Berkeley and is currently Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Arizona. In addition to examining the struggles surrounding gambling legalization, he has studied ethnographically the experience of service work in the global casino industry and the politics of deindustrialization in the US rust belt. He is currently conducting research for a project analyzing the uneven diffusion of Pierre Bourdieu’s ideas into the field of American sociology over the past three decades.     

Future directions for research into the psychological determinants of problem gambling patterns

Abstract

Rapid increases in the availability of gambling have led to an increased recognition of problem gambling as a major public health concern. A growing body of empirical research has contributed greatly to current knowledge; however, most has centered on prevalence and on risk factors for problem gambling. In this paper, the authors argue for the need to extend the investigative scope of the gambling studies field to improve understanding the natural course of problem gambling over time and to the identification of psychosocial determinants of gambling patterns. Elucidating these issues would constitute an important first step in refining preventive and therapeutic efforts toward curbing possible increases in problem gambling and attendant consequences. Important research areas and methodologies identified in this paper are: large‐scale prospective studies using repeated measures, investigations into factors that may protect from or facilitate progression to problem gambling, especially factors that may be amenable to change, and broadening research samples to community‐based regular gamblers, particularly subclinical (in transition) individuals.     

Aboriginal card gamblers and non-card gamblers: do they differ?

Many Indigenous populations engage in traditional gambling games, but little is known about their contemporary usage or the characteristics of people who participate. This paper presents the first quantitative study of traditional Indigenous Australian card gambling. The aim of this research was to compare Indigenous Australian card gamblers with non-card gamblers in terms of socio-demographic characteristics, gambling behaviour and motivations, gambling cognitions, gambling consequences, substance use while gambling and problem gambling severity. A gambling survey was conducted at Indigenous festivals, in several communities and online. Within a sample of 1001 gamblers, 414 people had gambled on traditional card games in the previous 12 months. Many card gamblers commenced gambling while young, were highly involved in both cards and commercial gambling and gambled because most of their family and friends also gamble. An important difference revealed here is that card gamblers gamble on more forms of commercial gambling than non-card gamblers. Gambling appears as a deep-seated habit in some participants' lives and although the proportion classified as problem gamblers is high in this sample the card gamblers held more realistic cognitions about chances of winning than did the non-card gamblers.     

The Science of Decision-making: Behaviours Related to Gambling

Abstract

The behaviour analysis of decision-making has studied three realms of behaviour that play a role in gambling: risk taking, behavioural persistence and self-control. Research from our laboratory and others suggests that in all three areas, the manner in which choices are presented to subjects is of central importance. The paper argues that a behavioural perspective may be useful in understanding the factors controlling gambling and compares this perspective with one based on a cognitive orientation.