The Brief Addiction Science Information Source (BASIS)

The WAGER 6(13) - Problem Gamblers and Legal Problems: Predicament Predictors

Recent research (e.g., Meyer & Stadler, 1999) suggests a relationship between problem gambling, illegal activities, and associated personal, familial, and other social consequences. A study conducted by Potenza Steinberg, McLaughlin, Wu, Rounsaville, and O’Malley (2000) supports these conclusions and further posits that problem[1] gamblers who report legal problems secondary to gambling are more seriously troubled with psychiatric, gambling, and financial problems compared to problem gamblers with no reported legal problems. Using data derived from a sample (n=826) of callers to the 24-hour helpline of the Connecticut Council on Compulsive Gambling, Potenza et al. (2000) categorized callers into two groups: those... Read more →

The WAGER 6(12) - To Medicate or Not To Medicate - Drug Treatment for Level 3 Gambling

Forthcoming research suggests that naltrexone, developed in 1994 to treat heroin addiction and approved in 1995 to treat alcoholics, might be effective in reducing symptoms associated with pathological (level 3) gambling disorders (Kim et al., in press). These preliminary findings replicate others showing that naltrexone diminishes gambling urges of level 3 gamblers (Kim, 1998). The success of other drugs in treating level 3 gambling disorders, however narrow, should not be overlooked. According to Hollander, Buchalter, and DeCaria (2000), selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI’s) and mood stabilizers have shown limited promise in treating level 3 gamblers. For example, a case study... Read more →

The WAGER 6(11) - The Great Wide Open: Implications of Gambling's Expansion in Canada

Legalized gambling in Canada swelled during the 1990’s as government-owned gaming expanded throughout the decade (Korn, 2000). This expansion derived from a change in economic policy intended to increase national revenue without additional taxation, encourage economic growth in the entertainment and leisure sectors, and rouse greater support for charitable gaming (Campbell & Smith, 1998, in Korn, 2000). While the impact of this fresh economic strategy has yet to fully materialize (Korn, 2000), some of its social and policy implications are becoming more clear. According to a recent Statistics Canada report (Marshall, 1998, 2000, in Korn, 2000), upper-income households spend more... Read more →

Op-Ed/Editorials - Indian Nations and Internet Gambling

Professor I. Nelson Rose, Whittier Law School, Costa Mesa, CA. Cutting edge developments in gambling law are coming from North America's oldest cultures and the world's newest technologies. Can Indian tribes run online lotteries, bingo and casinos? Can they license non-Indians to operate gambling sites on the Internet? This is not merely a hypothetical legal question. In 1997, the Coeur d'Alene tribe in Idaho set up the first Internet Indian lottery, accepting bets from anyone located in a state with a state lottery. Non-Indian companies spent millions of dollars setting up the "US Lottery," but its computers were always on... Read more →

The WAGER 6(10) - Northern Exposure: Adolescent Gambling in Canada

Adolescents display higher rates of gambling disorders compared to adults (Shaffer, Hall, & Vanderbilt, 1999). Research suggests these higher rates exist not only because gambling disorders often originate during adolescence (Gupta & Derevensky, 1998; Shaffer & Hall, 1996; Wynne Resources Ltd., 1996), but also because today’s adolescent generation is the first to be socialized into a culture of legalized gambling. This shift in social setting might stimulate higher rates of problem gambling among adolescents (Shaffer et al., 1999). Results derived from a sample taken from the 1999 Ontario Student Drug Use Survey (OSDUS) offer support for these ideas. Selecting a... Read more →