The Brief Addiction Science Information Source (BASIS)

The WAGER Vol. 7(35) - Do Casinos have Casualties? Mixed Evidence for a Gambling-Suicide Link

Over the years, researchers have sought evidence to support the widely held expectation that increased gambling would lead to increased rates of suicide. The evidence has been mixed: some studies have suggested a relationship with gambling (Bland, Newman, Orn, & Stebelsky, 1993; Phillips, Welty, & Smith, 1997), while others have found no link (Cunningham-Williams, Cottler, Compton, & Spitznagel, 1998; Marfels, 1998). This week, the WAGER reports on a recent study that attempts to resolve this issue by examining relationships between the presence of casinos in a geographic area and the suicide rate among its residents (McCleary, Chew, Merrill, & Napolitano,... Read more →

The WAGER Vol. 7(34) - The Bottle as Muse: Considering Alcohol and Art

This week the WAGER announces the release of the second volume of the Harvard Medical School Division on Addictions web initiative, Addictions in the Humanities. The aim of this initiative is to create a public forum to discuss literature, art, music, and performing arts related to addiction. We will publish new issues of Addictions in the Humanities quarterly. The next issue will be available in November. Below is a portion of one article from the second issue. The Division on Addictions welcomes article submissions. Researchers have speculated that many people use alcohol, gambling and other activities as a form of... Read more →

Op-Ed/Editorials - California Legalizes Internet Gambling

Professor I. Nelson Rose, Whittier Law School, Costa Mesa, CA. California Gov. Gray Davis recently authorized what may be the second largest expansion of legal gambling in the history of the United States. At the same time, he brought legal Internet gambling to a significant percentage of the country's population. Of course, nothing can compare to Gov. Davis's campaign for Prop. 1A and the dozens of tribal-state compacts he signed. Within ten years, California will surpass all other states, including Nevada, as the nation's largest casino market. Gov. Davis's legalization of Internet gambling may be not as big, but it... Read more →

The WAGER Vol. 7(33) - Gambling and The Elderly: Real or Imagined Risk?

Knowledge of cultural presumptions can drastically affect individuals’ thoughts, behaviors, and feelings. For example, recent research suggests that subtle exposure to stereotypes about the elderly affects elderly individuals’ memory quality, physical agility, and decision-making about living (Levy, 1996, 2000; Levy, Ashman, & Dror, 2000). This week the WAGER reviews a recent publication by Hope and Havir (2002) that expresses concern that cultural presumptions of elderly vulnerability to problem gambling might be premature and could unnecessarily lead to self-perceptions of vulnerability among this segment of the population—resulting in avoidance of potentially socially beneficial gambling outings. This study had two phases. In... Read more →

The WAGER Vol. 7(32) - Living Timeline of Gambling

During the Harrah’s General Council meeting of 2001, Judy Patterson, Senior Vice-President and Executive Director of the American Gaming Association presented the framework for a timeline of the history of gambling. Together, Patterson and the staff of The WAGER would like to invite all readers of The WAGER to contribute information about dates and events to add to this timeline. It is our hope that we will be able to create an ongoing and interactive document that will provide valuable information to individuals seeking to know more about historical events associated with gambling and problem gambling. The framework laid out... Read more →