The Brief Addiction Science Information Source (BASIS)

The WAGER Vol. 9(21) - Pushing the Limits: Gambling Among NCAA Athletes

Both at schools and other venues, people frequently wager on college sports. The behavior and performance of college athletes (particularly Division I) consequently determines the fate of a great many bets. In such a betting environment, it would not be surprising to find a higher rate of gambling within this population as Cross and Vallano (1999) discovered in their study of gambling behaviors of basketball and football players. It is important to identify college athlete gambling rates because research suggests that students athletes might be particularly vulnerable to gambling problems (see WAGERs 7(18), 7(10)). Recently the NCAA released a summary... Read more →

The WAGER Vol. 9(20) - The Telltale Heart: Gambling, Expectancy, and Heart Rate

Smarty Jones ran to victory in the Kentucky Derby on May 1st and again in the Preakness Stakes last weekend, accompanied by a frenzy of human emotion. According to the Associated Press, “At the Derby, the excitement almost seemed too much for the 78-year-old Chapman [Smarty Jones’ owner, who suffers from a lung ailment], who had to take a series of deep breaths to calm himself after his horse’s victory” (Associated Press, 2004). Does the emotional fervor inspired by these races arise strictly from admiration for the livestock involved or might the millions of dollars wagered be a factor? Much... Read more →

The WAGER Vol. 9(19) - Call it in the Air: A New Look at the Gambler’s Fallacy

Imagine it is game four of the ALCS, and the Boston Red Sox are up three games to none over the New York Yankees. A smart bettor might choose to place his game four bet on the Yankees, citing the fact that they would never allow the Red Sox a clean sweep and are due for a win. One might compare betting on the Yankees in this situation to betting on “heads” after three consecutive “tails” coin tosses. However, the baseball bettor is in an infinitely better position than the coin-tosser. Unlike a coin toss, a baseball game is not... Read more →

The WAGER Vol. 9(18) - This Is Your Brain on Video: Impulse Control and Pathological Gambling

Although pathological gambling falls under the category “impulse control disorder” in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - IV (American Psychiatric Association, 1994), there is some speculation that the brain structures involved in gambling are similar to those involved in addictive disorders, such as cocaine dependence (Bachs & Waal, 2003; Breiter, Aharon, Kahneman, Dale, & Shizgal, 2001). Recent innovations in neuroscience permit researchers to identify neural systems associated with disorders and to compare neurological profiles. Uncovering the neural systems associated with pathological gamblers has the potential to influence future treatment programs. This week the WAGER reviews Potenza et... Read more →