The Brief Addiction Science Information Source (BASIS)

The WAGER, Vol. 6(22) - Did You Know...

Since its inception, the WAGER has reliably presented the latest research and information on a variety of topics associated with gambling. The tradition continues this week, with some interesting facts that might be overlooked in the everyday discourse on gambling and its connectedness to history, architecture, sport, fast food, electricity, and the family. Source: http://uselessknowledge.com. The WAGER acknowledges GamCare News (Spring, p.10 2001 for leading us to uselessknowledge.com As the trivia above reveals, gambling has a long and storied history. It is integrated into the fabric of societies around the world. An understanding and appreciation of this connectedness is vital... Read more →

The WAGER 6(21) - Close Ties? Pathological Gambling,Parkinson's Disease, and Levodopa Therapy

The exact cause of gambling disorders is unknown. However, some research (e.g., Bergh, Eklund, Sodersten, & Nordin, 1997) has shown that altered dopamine function might be involved. Similarly, Parkinson’s disease is characterized by dopamine reduction that might incite certain cognitive and behavioral changes in those afflicted (Foti & Cummings, 1997). Molina et al. (2000) examine the association among pathological gambling, Parkinson’s disease, and Levodopa[1] therapy in a Spanish research sample. Twelve research participants, eleven men and one woman, met criteria for pathological gambling and Parkinson’s disease according to DSM-IV and the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS; Hoehn & Yahr,... Read more →

The WAGER 6(20) - Control and Coping: The Female Poker Machine Player

According to Scannell, Quirk, Smith, Maddern, and Dickerson (2000), impaired control over gambling might be influenced by certain problem coping strategies. These strategies include problem-focused coping, defined as active problem solving and conflict resolution, and emotion-focused coping, centering on escape or avoidance of a particular problem or conflict (Folkman, Chesney, Pollack, & Coates, 1993, in Scannell et al., 2000). Scannell et al. (2000) studied the association between control over gambling and problem- and emotion-focused coping strategies among a cohort of female poker machine players. Scannell et al. (2000) recruited 163 women from metropolitan (n=14) and regional (n=6) gaming venues in... Read more →

The WAGER 6(19) - No Bull: The Turkish Pathological Gambler

Throughout the past two decades the Turkish government has legalized and encouraged gambling for its own financial gain (Duvarci & Varan, 2000). However, state-sponsored gambling activities are limited to lotteries, lotto, and horse betting. As such, illegal gambling in Turkey occurs in the kahvehane (i.e., coffee house), where card gambling is popular. Research conducted by Duvarci and Varan (2000) sought to discover the descriptive features of pathological (i.e., level 3) Turkish gamblers. The research sample consisted of seventy-three men who gambled at least once per week on horse races or cards; 72.6% (n=53) were recruited from kahvehanes, 4.1% (n=3) from... Read more →

The WAGER 6(18) - Gambling Behavior and the Single Distribution Theory

According to the single distribution theory (Rose, 1992, 1985), a change in the prevalence of a characteristic (i.e., the number of people who gamble) will cause a similar change throughout the distribution of this characteristic (i.e., level 1, 2, and 3 gamblers). Grun and McKeigue (2000) studied the relationship between the single distribution theory and excessive[1] gambling in the United Kingdom (UK). Grun and McKeigue (2000) examined the single distribution theory’s prediction that the increase in gambling expenditure that occurred after inception of the UK’s national lottery would be associated with a similar and proportionate increase of excessive gamblers. To... Read more →