The Brief Addiction Science Information Source (BASIS)

The WAGER, Vol 6(30) - The Gambling Impact and Behavior Study: Part 1

In April of 1998, the National Gambling Impact Study Commission (NGISC) contracted the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago to help in collecting valid data that would aid the creation of informed recommendations and legislation regarding gambling issues. The resulting study consisted of five separate data collections that attempted to provide nationwide gambling prevalence rates (Gerstein et al., 1999). The only other study of this kind was conducted in 1976 by the Commission on the Review of the National Policy Toward Gambling (Kallick, Suits, Dielman, & Hybels, 1979). Thus, the NORC efforts compose a watershed study... Read more →

The WAGER, Vol 6(29) - Playing the Lottery: Cognitive Misconceptions and Problem Gambling

In a recently published study by Hardoon, Baboushkin, Derevensky, and Gupta (2001), the authors investigated the cognitive processes that influence the selection of lottery tickets. In particular, they examined the misconceptions people have that certain types of lottery tickets will be winners; in reality any given ticket has an equal chance of winning, regardless of the order or arrangement of the numbers. This study examined the association between these cognitive patterns and patterns of problem gambling. The study sample consisted of sixty-three undergraduate volunteers from McGill University in Montreal. The investigators asked participants to complete the Gambling Activities Questionnaire (GAQ)... Read more →

The WAGER, Vol 6(28) - Health Care Providers and the Problem Gambler

A recent edition of the WAGER addressed the role general practitioners play in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of problem (i.e., level 2) gambling in New Zealand (Sullivan et. al, 2000). Christensen, Patsdaughter, and Babington (2001) recently investigated the awareness of problem gambling among American health care providers. Researchers distributed surveys to health care providers (i.e., physicians, registered nurses, advanced practice nurses, and social workers) at professional conferences and practice settings (e.g., ambulatory care, acute care, and private practice); the respondents provided information anonymously. There were 180 participants who answered the following questions1 : 1) Have you read or heard... Read more →

Op-Ed/Editorials - Nevada A.G. Finds Free Internet Gambling Is Still Gambling

Professor I. Nelson Rose, Whittier Law School, Costa Mesa, CA. Nevada is the only state in the United States, and probably the only government in the world, to conclude that players are making wagers -- when they are not making wagers. Everyone knows what gambling is. Judges and lawyers may use words such as prize, chance and consideration. But you do not have to have studied gaming law to know that gambling occurs when players risk something of value, with the understanding that they will be paid if they are correct in predicting the outcome of an uncertain event. If... Read more →

Op-Ed/Editorials - Indian Nations and Internet Gambling

Professor I. Nelson Rose, Whittier Law School, Costa Mesa, CA. Federal v. State Governments Internet gambling is exposing inherent weaknesses in some of the world's largest governments; conflicts that cannot ever be completely resolved. In the old, old days (around 1996), it looked like the Great Divide was between the large countries in the Northern Hemisphere, and everyone else. The United States Congress was considering bills which would have made even making a bet online a crime, while island nations and states south of the Equator were issuing licenses. By 1998, the U.S. appeared to be standing alone. Proposals in... Read more →

The WAGER, Vol 6(27) - Gaming Employees: Mapping Health Concerns

Very few scientific studies report on gaming workers' health and safety. The few studies that do (e.g., Shaffer, Vander Bilt & Hall, 1999; Lapenz & Lester, 1997; Trout & Decker, 1996; Darcy & Lester, 1995) might not fully explore the potential health and safety risks gaming workers face (Keith et al., 2001). Research conducted by Keith et al. (2001) explores some of these risks via participatory action research. Keith et al. (2001) recruited a total of seventy-one gaming workers from two Ontario (n=51) and three Manitoba (n=20) gaming facilities. Sixteen occupational groups were represented: dealers (n= 17) and cleaners/porters (n=13)... Read more →