Problem Gambling News and Research

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Addiction experts fear the fallout if California legalizes sports betting

Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that states could legalize betting on sports, California — with 40 million people and numerous professional teams — has been the great white whale, eluding gambling companies and casino-hosting tribal communities.

5 Oct 2022

Review: One in every 400 adults has sought help for problem gambling

A new systematic review published today by the scientific journal Addiction has found that, globally, around one in every 400 adults (0.23% of the current general adult population) has sought help for gambling problems, either during the past 12 months or at some point in their lifetime.

14 Jul 2022

UMass Amherst research professor receives award from National Council on Problem Gambling

Not long after earning her Ph.D. in sociology and losing her brief first job with a software startup that shut down overnight, Rachel Volberg took a chance - on gambling studies, a nearly nonexistent field.

21 Jul 2021

Hope can help people feel happier, protect them from risky behaviors

Having hope for the future could protect people from risky behaviours such as drinking and gambling - according to new research from the University of East Anglia.

17 Dec 2020

UMass Amherst receives new funding to continue gambling impact research

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has awarded a renewable contract to a University of Massachusetts Amherst team to continue groundbreaking research into the socioeconomic impacts of introducing casino gambling in the state.

4 Feb 2020

Siblings of people with gambling disorder display increased impulsivity, risky decision-making

Biological siblings of people with gambling disorder also display markers of increased impulsivity and risk-taking, according to a new UBC psychology study. The findings, published today in Neuropsychopharmacology, suggest people with gambling disorder - a psychiatric term for serious gambling problems - may have pre-existing genetic vulnerabilities to the illness.

9 Oct 2019

Researchers find link between frequently trading cryptocurrency and problem gambling

Researchers at the Center for Gambling Studies at Rutgers University-New Brunswick's School of Social Work have found a link between frequently trading cryptocurrency -- a digital and virtual currency -- and problem gambling.

11 Mar 2019

Nonprofit bets Asian-American students can learn to avoid unhealthy gambling

The students listened attentively as Ryan Wong explained how casinos keep customers chasing that elusive jackpot.

26 Nov 2018

Study provides vital clues into biology of gambling addiction

Gambling addiction activates the same brain pathways as drug and alcohol cravings, suggests new research.

3 Jan 2017

Study sheds light on neuronal circuits during risky behavior

New research sheds light on what's going on inside our heads as we decide whether to take a risk or play it safe. Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis located a region of the brain involved in decisions made under conditions of uncertainty, and identified some of the cells involved in the decision-making process.

27 Jul 2016

New survey shows one-third of students experience high levels of psychological distress

More than one in three - an estimated 328,000 -- Ontario students in grades seven to 12 report moderate-to-serious psychological distress, according to new survey results from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Girls are twice as likely as boys to experience psychological distress.

21 Jul 2016

Most gamblers who play responsibly enjoy experience and exhibit no problems

People who are in control of their gambling habits play for fun and like the idea of possibly winning big. They set limits on how much money and time they can spend, and they are likely to gamble on the internet.

10 Sep 2014

Brain changes in problem gamblers make it hard to quit habit

People who gamble frequently may experience brain changes that make it extremely difficult for them to give up the habit.

19 Jun 2014

Homeless people in Toronto are nearly 9 times more likely to have history of pathological gambling

Homeless clients using services at Toronto's Good Shepherd Ministries are nearly nine times more likely to have a history of problem or pathological gambling than the general population, a new study from St. Michael's Hospital has found.

22 May 2014

Research: Stimulation of certain population of neurons within brain can alter learning process

Stimulation of a certain population of neurons within the brain can alter the learning process, according to a team of neuroscientists and neurosurgeons at the University of Pennsylvania.

14 May 2014

Study links gambling and sexual behaviors in African-American adolescents

Late adolescence is a period when many youth become involved in high-risk behaviors with adverse consequences. Researchers at the Mailman School of Public Health with colleagues at Johns Hopkins University studied the degree to which two such behaviors, adolescent sexual behaviors and gambling, affected African American youth in nine primary schools in Baltimore, MD.

26 Feb 2014

Parental supervision at ages 11-14 lowers risk for problem gambling by age 22

Keeping an eye on your child can lower their odds for gambling by young adulthood, according to research conducted at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. Adolescents who had poor parental supervision at age 11, and which continued to decline through age 14, were significantly more likely than their peers to be problem gamblers between ages 16-22.

12 Nov 2013