When it comes to problem gambling and how to deal with it as a society, a panel of experts said more study is needed and addiction specialists need to factor in gambling in their assessments.
“The science is pretty young, said Paige Shaffer, a consultant who appeared on the panel – ‘Responsible Gaming Roundtable: A Fresh Take on the Next-Gen Programs.’ She said a recent analysis of scientific literature of 2,500 articles showed that only 29 studies have used “good scientific methods,” she said.
“When you’re really talking about getting regulations in place, think about the science used in those studies,” Shaffer said. “What we found is time parameters really mattered.”
For those problem gamblers on self-exclusion lists, it worked for about six months, Shaffer said.
“They reported it helped them but the findings, a year out, show it didn’t really help those folks,” Shaffer said. “When you’re thinking about a problem gambling initiative, have a pilot and study it. And make sure you’re not introducing harm to people.”
Panelists talked about gambling addiction as part of holistic addiction and understanding underlying alcoholism, depression or anxiety disorder. Data also shows there are a high number of incidences of gambling coupled with opioid disorder. Yet addiction specialists aren’t asking people if they have a problem gambling, panelists said.
Janet Miller, executive director of the Louisiana Association of Compulsive Gambling, said before problem gamblers seek assistance through a help line or treatment center, it’s important that the public be aware in identifying factors for problem gaming. The top issues is if people have problems with their finances and/or have “huge personality changes.”
“In the last 20 years, change has occurred in huge leaps and bounds as to how we’re going to treat a problem gambler and their families.” Miller said. “There is a different bottom for anyone with a problem with gambling, and they do need to hit a bottom. What that means is personal to any level or addiction. We definitely want to look at the totality of people, now, rather than look at just the gambling disorder. There’s usually some other concurrent issue going on.”
Russell Sanna, executive director of the National Center for Responsible Gaming, said there has been some great strides made in “what we need to know to keep gaming a healthy industry for all the stakeholders for all involved. The NCRG has been a leader in that regard, by default, because there’s no federal money spend on gambling research. It’s been supported the last 20 years by the industry with firewalls to protect its integrity,” he said.
“We have very substantial scientific evidence to establish the one percent prevalence in the adult population for gambling disorders,” Sanna said. “But there are many other aspects to know and understand further, like youth gambling, and gambling among the aged and minorities.
Maria-Christiana Annaloro, Director of Government Relations & Responsible Gaming at the Las Vegas Sands Corp. said as gaming continues to evolve, the NCRG needs to be in the “cutting edge of the programs that are going to be coming out and the research to back it.”
Frank Donaghue, vice president of regulatory affairs, chief compliance officer for Penn National Gaming, said Penn National as a member of the American Gaming Association, follows its code of conduct that was amended recently.
“There are some important things that our employees are trained in and such as problem gaming, responsible alcohol service and focusing on underage issues such as the prevention of underage gaming,” Donaghue said. “That has been a major progress.”
Andre Wilsenach, executive director of the International Center for Gaming Regulation at UNLV, said politicians and the regulation they direct isn’t aimed at dealing with failures in the marketplace.
“When you look at responsible gambling, that is probably the one area that is the biggest market failure,” Wilsenach said. “The product has been offered and where it acts negatively on behalf of the consumer, the state has a responsibility to intervene. That is the role of regulators around the world. How they approach this failure is significantly different, and it is a result of the lack of a common understanding of the nature of the issue and the size of the risk.”
Wilsenach said the buzzword today is harm, and the questions haven’t been answered on how best to regulate those risks. In the U.S., states are looking at best practices of others, which could lead to uniform standards.
Annaloro said Sands has programs in place that reduce gambling risk and safeguard patrons, and has posted signs intending to build awareness of disordered gaming, as well as educating and training thousands of team members on problem gaming and responsible gambling. Sands also works to connect those patrons to treatment centers for counseling, and provides funding which increases social services available to the public.
“We want to reduce the stigma,” Annaloro said. “We talk about problem gambling. We talk about responsible gaming. For us, it’s a year-round, everyday commitment. It’s always necessary to communicate to our team members. The industry has the responsibility to protect its players and its team members, and the community in which we operate. This can apply to a number of issues and not just problem gambling. It could be human trafficking or money laundering.”
Donaghue said Penn National has 26 facilities in 17 jurisdictions, and there’s a responsible gaming committee at each property, headed up by the manager, to make sure the employees are trained properly.
Miller said LACG goes to casinos to help staff understand what they’re going to see with most types of gamblers across the board. Many times employees think a person may have a gambling problem when they don’t, she said.
“Oftimes there are people who don’t want to dress a certain way,” Miller said. “[The staff] have to get to know them, and there is a process. You can’t tell, while somebody is in play, if they have a problem or not. You don’t know their personality.”
If gamblers say they are spending their mortgage money or bill money, that’s a problem, Miller said. It doesn’t mean a disordered problem, she added.
The stigma with problem gambling keeps people from coming forward, Miller said.
“People are constantly telling the help line that they are so embarrassed and ashamed and loathe to tell people they have a problem,” Miller said.
Miller said that once someone contacts them, they provide outpatient or residential treatment. The key is that families must be involved so more people can be treated and helped.
“If anybody is going to work with a gambler, they must work with the family and friends as well, because [the problem gambler is] not in a vacuum,” Miller said. “There are so many people affected. We have a small window of help for them, so we want to grab that.”
Miller agreed some of the studies on problem gambling are “horrible” and that there “may be more of a problem,” but the majority of people who gamble do it responsibly.
“Maybe those 5 percent that have a problem in Louisiana feel like they’re 100 percent,” Miller said. “We want to give them help and resources, but they need to know where it is and how to access that without feeling stigmatized. Together, we can work on that as well.”
Wilsenach said one of the benefits of online gaming is that it can build limits on play and deposits into the system. These tools can be implemented whether the player wants them or not. Hopefully, that can be made part of offline gaming with technology, he said.
“The online sector is miles ahead when it comes to providing the necessary tools,” Wilsenach said.
Annaloro said self-exclusion is a “great tool for somebody who wants help and has taken that first step. When people go to treatment centers, they are asked to go to their casino and sign up for a self-exclusion plan. They can be arrested if they violate that, and that’s a big deterrent. That’s one tool in our responsible gaming belt.”
Roger Gros, publisher of Global Gaming Business and moderator of the panel, talked about systems casinos have that inform players when they are approaching or have reached a set limit.
“What I like about the system is they inform you of the odds if you play a machine, whether it’s a high volatility machine or smaller payment,” Gros said. “I thought that was as valuable as setting the limits. Some think it’s a detriment because if you set it that low and the alarm goes off 50 percent first and then goes up, it doesn’t stop you from gambling even if you hit that.” Shaffer said some research shows customers set the limit high so it doesn’t go off.
