New Trends in Gambling Research

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New Trends in Gambling Research

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• Christine Reilly
• Institute for Research on Pathological Gambling
  and Related Disorders
• Division on Addictions
• Cambridge Health Alliance, affiliate of Harvard
  Medical School

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Explosion of Knowledge

• 1/3 of all knowledge about gambling published
  1999-2003
• Much of what we know has been learned only in the
  past few years
• Findings have challenged conventional wisdom

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Research Trends

• Population Studies
• Trajectory dynamic, not static
• Transition to adulthood
• Natural recovery
• Similarity of international prevalence rates
• Genetics
• Drug Treatments

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Trajectory of gambling disorders

• Conventional wisdom
• Gambling addiction chronic, progressive
• Research indicates
• Dynamic
• Episodic rather than chronic
• Moving toward health

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From adolescence to adulthood

• Longitudinal study by Winters, Stinchfield,
  Botzet, Slutske (2005)
• Gambling problem progression during adolescence
  dynamic
• No evidence of automatic progression to most
  disordered state
• No evidence that increased gambling in Minnesota
  triggered increase in PG among youth
• Demonstrates importance of longitudinal studies

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Natural Recovery

• Conventional wisdom
• People with gambling addiction need treatment or
  self-help groups to recover
• New Research University of Missouri (Slutske,
  2006)
• First empirical evidence for natural recovery
• Analysis of 2 national community surveys
• Approximately 1/3 got well on their own
• Similar to other addictive disorders

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International Prevalence Rates
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Role of Genetics

• Conventional wisdom
• Clinicians have suspected genetic link
• Research now provides evidence for genetic role
• University of Iowa study (funded by NCRG)
• National Institutes of Health

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Treatment

• No treatment standard yet
• Promising strategies
• Pharmacological interventions
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
• Brief interventions

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Drug Treatments

• Nalmefene study released in 2006
• Used for alcohol disorders
• Largest randomized pharmacotherapy trial for PG
• Nalmefene effective for reducing PG symptoms
• Published in American Journal of Psychiatry
  (Grant, JE, et al., 2006)

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Implications for Gaming Regulations

• Understanding of PG shifting constantly
• Its not about the game
• Responsible gaming policies should be based on
  empirical not anecdotal evidence
• Prevalence does not treatment-seeking
• Educational materials must be updated
  periodically
• EMERGE Executive, Management and Employee
  Responsible Gaming Education
• Evaluation of prevention and intervention
  programs essential

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How to keep up with research

• Subscribe to the BASIS
• Monthly research report on gambling research
  The WAGER
• Contact the Institute (781-306-8604)
  christine_reilly_at_hms.harvard.edu
• Attend Annual NCRG Conference on Gambling and
  Addiction

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7th Annual NCRGConferenceon Gambling Addiction
Lost in Translation? The Challenge of
Turning Good Research into Best Practices November
12-14, 2006 Las Vegas