The Brief Addiction Science Information Source (BASIS)

The WAGER, Vol. 6 (44) - The Games We Play: Gambling Preferences and Severity of Pathology

Morgan, Kofoed, Buchkoski, & Carr (1996) suggest that video lottery (VL) gambling is “a powerful gambling stimulus” and that there is a relationship between this stimulus and the severity of one’s gambling pathology. Although the authors are careful to point out that their results do not establish a cause and effect relationship, Morgan et al. (1996) explored three aspects of gambling behavior that may reveal an underlying relationship between game preference and pathology: (1) recent gambling activity, (2) the most money lost on one occasion, and (3) the number of DSM-IV criterion problems associated with different types of games. This... Read more →

The WAGER, Vol. 6 (43) - The Influence of GamAnon on Relapse Tendencies

The families of addicted gamblers are often hit hard financially. Two weeks ago, The Wager reviewed some suggestions for immediate action that family members can take to protect their financial stability. Research has shown, however, that not only are families impacted financially by a gambler’s addiction, but excessive gambling also can inflict emotionally injuries (Darbyshire, Oster, & Carrig, 2001). Darbyshire et al. offer the following quote from a research interview as an example: P: Well whenever mum goes out my [older] brother locked himself in his bedroom, because my [11 year old] sister’s always like home and making arguments between... Read more →

The WAGER, Vol. 6 (42) - Profiling Lady Luck: A Study of Male and Female Gambling Behavior

Do men and women have different gambling behaviors? A recent WAGER, reported on a Brazilian study that found that treatment-seeking women started gambling significantly later in life than did treatment-seeking men, and that women progressed from intense gambling to problem gambling at a much faster rate. This week’s WAGER reports on a study by Hing and Breen (2001) that explored the slot machine playing tendencies of men and women. Hing and Breen telephoned members of six gambling clubs in Sydney, Australia in November and December 1996. They contacted 16,642 households to achieve their goal of 3000 interviews. The interviews lasted... Read more →

Op-Ed/Editorials - In Nevada, It's Pay Your Markers Or Go To Jail

Professor I. Nelson Rose, Whittier Law School, Costa Mesa, CA. The District Attorneys' offices in Nevada are threatening to charge gamblers who don't pay off their markers to local casinos, with felonies. Law enforcement officials do not normally act as collection agencies. But two recent decisions from two different courts in Nevada have indicated this practice may be legal, or at least there is nothing patrons can do about it. The first case arose when Matthew H. Fleeger began a series of disastrous gambling trips in November 1997 to Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and Caesars Tahoe. Fleeger filled out... Read more →

The WAGER, Vol. 6 (41) - Straightening Out Financial Problems Due To Gambling

In addition to the many emotional and interpersonal difficulties that accompany addiction to gambling, friends, relatives, spouses, and significant others of pathological gamblers may have to deal with the gambler’s financial losses. A recent handbook titled, “Personal Financial Strategies for the Loved Ones of Problem Gamblers,” developed collaboratively by the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) and the National Council on Problem Gambling1(NCPG) reviews several financial costs of pathological gambling and steps that can help maintain or restore financial stability (NEFE, 2000). This Wager summarizes the costs and actions identified by the handbook. Note. Full discussion of the above items... Read more →

The WAGER, Vol. 6 (40) - Changing Your Mind in 28 Days

Last week’s WAGER reported on a study suggesting that the effectiveness of a gambling treatment program need not be defined by abstinence from post-treatment gambling. This week’s WAGER reviews a study that suggests that the effectiveness of a gambling treatment program does not need to be evaluated by post­treatment gambling behavior. Breen, Kruedelbach, & Walker (2001) evaluated the success of a cognitive-behavioral-therapy (CBT) gambling treatment program by changes in gamblers’ beliefs and attitudes about gambling. Study participants were 66 veterans (64 men; 2 women) who were admitted to a CBT inpatient treatment program between October 1998 and June 1999 at... Read more →