I will hand you over to Conor, now, to give you his full analysis of the ESPAD and NACDA data.
Conor Keogh:
It is firstly important to consider that the above figures are not a statistical aberration and aregenerally in line with trends that are being seen all over Europe. Indeed, the ESPAD resultsfound that of all those respondents across the full European sample who had gambled in thelast twelve months, around 5% of respondents met the criteria for problem gambling. This
equates to a rate of around 1.4% across the total sample in Europe. As has been in the case invarious previous research
findings,the ESPAD report alsopoints to a very prominent genderdiscrepancy that exists in respect to problem gambling.
In every country surveyed in theESPAD report, boys were more likely to be problem gamblers than girls (boys had an
average of 29%, compared to 15% amongst girls).
Going back to the Irish context, the 2014 / 2015Drug Prevalence Survey carried out by theNational Advisory Committee on Drugs and Alcohol (NACDA) was amongst the firstprevalence surveys carried out in the country to gauge gambling
behaviours across thepopulation.The report estimated that 0.8% of the male population aged between 15 and 17 fit
the criteria for being problem gamblers (based on the DSM-IV classification framework). Forfemales of the same age bracket, the figure was slightly lower, estimated to be around 0.7%.Overall, male adolescents were more likely to have gambled at least once over the past 12months (29.9%) compared to adolescent females (20.6%).
The recently released ESPAD statistics surrounding underage gambling in Ireland paint ahighly dangerous picture. The
ESPAD survey report (which covers a wide range ofadolescent behaviours including alcohol, drug, and technology use)
suggests that the problemgambling rate amongst Irish adolescent males has in fact risen to 1.7%, compared to the 0.8%
found in the NACDA report. This represents nearly a doubling of problem gamblers amongstthis demographic. 15 – 16-year-old females were estimated to have a lower rate, estimated tobe at around 0.2%. This is in line with the averageacross all age-groups in the female population (0.2%), based on the NACDA 2014/15 study.In line with
the other European states, boys who gambled had a higher problem gamblingrate (7.6%) than the girls who gambled
(2.8%). Of the students who gambled in the last 12months, 26.3% (around 1 in 4) felt they needed to bet and spend more,
and 12.2% (around 1in 10) had lied to those close to them about their gambling behaviours.
IntheUK,weseeasimilarsituation.TheGamblingCommission's2019reportthat investigatedgamblingbehaviour
amongst11–16-yearoldsfoundthat1.7%ofthisdemographicfitthecriteriaforbeingproblemgamblers.
Intermsoftotalfigures,thismeansthatapproximately55,000childrenareclassifiedasproblemgamblersinEngland,
Scotland,andWales.Inadditiontothis,another2.7%presentedasbeing‘at-risk'gamblers,presenting
withsignsthattheycouldbeatriskofdevelopingamoreseriousproblem.Overall,39%ofthefullcohortofrespondents
aged11–16haveadmittedgamblingwiththeirownmoneyrecently,withthemostpopularformofgamblingbeing
fruitmachinesatarcadesandpubs(incidentally,slotmachinesweretheleastfavouredformofgamblingamongstIrish
adolescentgamblers,accordingtotheESPADdata).
Gamblingamongstadolescents:newformsofgambling
Decadesoftechnologicaladvancehavemeantthatgamblinghasspreadintovariousdiverseformsofmedia,whichhas
meantthatthelineswhichdemarcatewhatexactlyconstitutes'gambling'havebecomeblurryinrecentyears.Such
recenttechnologicaladvancementshavemeantthatgamblingcanbeseeninincreasinglycommonplaces,exposing
childrentoit onaveryregularbasis,viatelevision,mobilephones,andincreasingly,invideogames.Oneofthemost
notableplaceswecanseethisisthroughtheincreasinglypopular'lootboxes'invideogames.Indeed,recentresearch
publishedbyCentralQueenslandUniversityfoundthatofthe82best-sellingvideogamesavailable,62%(51ofthem)
hadlootboxmechanisms inthem.
Forexample,'FIFApacks'(asoneexampleofmanymore)havebeenanotabledemonstrationofthemuddieddefinitional
linesbetweenwhatisaharmless,funfeatureofagame,andwhatisconsideredgambling.Inmanyways,theprocessof
openingapack(oranyothersimilarlootbox)isverymuchpsychologicallyakintoagambleandinvolvesstimulatingthe
braininthesamewaythatanyothergambledoes.AsMacdonald(2018)says;'thedopaminehitisenjoyable,but
potentiallyaddictive,andhardtoresist'.Whilsttechnicallytherewardbeingreceivedbytheplayerisnotphysically
tangible(onemight‘pack'aLionelMessiinFIFA,yetthisMessihaslittletonovalueoutsidethegameworld),the
overarchingmechanismremainsthesame–itisagameofchance,ofriskandreward,andisultimatelypsychologically
akintoreal-lifegamblingthatprovidesa'‘ripebreedingground'forthedevelopmentofproblemgamblingamong
children'(DrummondandSauer,2018).InarecentOireachtasreport,Hurley(2020)mentionsthatatthetimeofwriting,
Irelanddoesnothavea'gamblingregulator,adigitalsafetycommissionoranyotherindependentexpertbodyresponsiblefordeterminingwhetherlootboxesoughttoberegulatedasaformofgambling'andarguesthatthereisa'growing
consensus'thatsuchregulationisrequiredinIrelandtoregulateforsuchpractices.
Formanyadultproblemgamblers,theirfirstexposuretogamblingwasinchildhood.Testimoniesfromgamblerstellus
thatthisfirstexposurecanrangefromanythinglikebuyingascratchcard,bettingontheGrandNational,sneakingintoa
casino,orperhapsplayingcardswithfriends.Now,thenumberofopportunitiesavailabletowould-beadolescent
gamblersisenormous.This,combinedwithavery-liberalapproachtogamblingadvertisement(noticeablyduring
livesports),aprominent'gamblingculture',andtheemergenceandpopularisationofgambling-simulatortypepractices
inmorecommonformsofmedia(suchasvideogames),hasledtoasituationwherechildrenandadolescentshavebecomeatgreatrisktotheharmsassociatedwithgambling,andtherecentESPADstatisticsareadistincttestamenttothis.
Problem gambling comes with a devastating personal, economic, psychological, and socialcost. The figures that we see
here from ESPAD are a result of an industry that has beencontinually under-legislated for in Ireland, and are a stark
indictment of the Government'sfailure to implement any meaningful legislation or solutions in order to counterbalance
thedevastating personal, financial and social cost of a gambling addiction. They also act as atimely reminder (and warning) that not enough has been done to protect children andadolescents from the harm associated with gambling, and that
there is an urgent need for thedevelopment and implementation of proper channels of gambling prevention education,
support, and treatment in Ireland, along with re-emphasising the urgent need foracross-the-board legislation.
Minnesota
Problem Gambling Support Services Committee Organizations
- Mission: To reduce the negative effects of gambling in Lane County communities through coordinating effective prevention strategies. Our program history Lane County formed its problem gambling (or 'disordered gambling') prevention program in January 2002. Since then, we have been called upon regionally, nationally and internationally for our resources and innovative prevention approaches.
- Problem Gambling Home To speak confidentially with a counselor who will provide help, including screening services and referrals to treatment or support groups, call the Problem Gambling Help-line, 800-270-7117 24-Hours. Non-Michigan residents, dial (313) 961-2193 to obtain a number for your state.
Assessing the need for problem gambling-related services, whether the State is meeting those needs, identifying existing gaps, and, finally, making recommendations to the legislature for improvements. Adopting a comprehensive approach, the entire Task Force has been meeting quarterly since January 2020.
If gambling is causing a problem in your life we encourage you to ask questions, gather information and conduct research on the type of help that is most appropriate for your situation. This information is intended to be a starting point—it is not a complete list of information or services.
FIND HELP IN YOUR STATE NOW, including counseling, treatment, self-help and support groups:
National Problem Gambling HelplineCall: 1-800-522-4700
Text: 1-800-522-4700
Chat: ncpgambling.org/chat
and
Northstar Problem Gambling Alliance
1935 West County Road B2, #420
Roseville, MN 55113
Tel: 612.424.8595
Fax: 651.636.6757
Email: info@northstarproblemgambling.org
Website: www.northstarproblemgambling.org
Helpline: 800.333.HOPE (4673)
OTHER STATE RESOURCES
• Minnesota Department of Human Services is responsible for general health and/or addiction services in this state, and may also have information on problem gambling.
• For the fact sheet on gambling and problem gambling in Minnesota, click here.
Self Help Resources
• Gamblers Anonymous (www.gamblersanonymous.org)
Is fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from a gambling problem.
• Gam-Anon (www.gam-anon.org)
Is a self-help organization for the spouse, family or close friends of compulsive gamblers.
• GamTalk (www.gamtalk.org)
Is a 24/7 moderated online peer support forum.
SCREENING TOOLS
Please visit our Screening Tools page to access three problem gambling assessment tools. It is important to note that these screens are not a diagnosis and DO NOT replace a face-to-face evaluation with a trained clinical professional.
• The Brief Biosocial Gambling Screen (BBGS). A 3-item survey designed to help people decide on their own whether to seek a formal evaluation of their gambling behavior.
• DSM-5 Addictive Gambling Criteria. The American Psychiatric Association guidelines used for the medical diagnosis of addictive gambling.
• NORC Diagnostic Screen for Gambling Problems. This simple self test will help you to evaluate your gambling behavior. Just answer 10 questions adapted from the DSM IV criteria.
1935 West County Road B2, #420
Roseville, MN 55113
Tel: 612.424.8595
Fax: 651.636.6757
Email: info@northstarproblemgambling.org
Website: www.northstarproblemgambling.org
Helpline: 800.333.HOPE (4673)
OTHER STATE RESOURCES
• Minnesota Department of Human Services is responsible for general health and/or addiction services in this state, and may also have information on problem gambling.
• For the fact sheet on gambling and problem gambling in Minnesota, click here.
Self Help Resources
• Gamblers Anonymous (www.gamblersanonymous.org)
Is fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from a gambling problem.
• Gam-Anon (www.gam-anon.org)
Is a self-help organization for the spouse, family or close friends of compulsive gamblers.
• GamTalk (www.gamtalk.org)
Is a 24/7 moderated online peer support forum.
SCREENING TOOLS
Please visit our Screening Tools page to access three problem gambling assessment tools. It is important to note that these screens are not a diagnosis and DO NOT replace a face-to-face evaluation with a trained clinical professional.
• The Brief Biosocial Gambling Screen (BBGS). A 3-item survey designed to help people decide on their own whether to seek a formal evaluation of their gambling behavior.
• DSM-5 Addictive Gambling Criteria. The American Psychiatric Association guidelines used for the medical diagnosis of addictive gambling.
• NORC Diagnostic Screen for Gambling Problems. This simple self test will help you to evaluate your gambling behavior. Just answer 10 questions adapted from the DSM IV criteria.
OTHER TREATMENT RESOURCES
• Certified Gambling Counselor Directory
• Treatment Facility List
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Problem Gambling Support Services Committee Act
In addition to the resources listed above, there are many additional resources for problem gamblers throughout the National Council on Problem Gambling site.
• Resources page pulls together information and links about our State Affiliates, U.S. and international resources, awareness promotion, state problem gambling services, financial issues, and much more.
Problem Gambling Support Services Committee Responsibilities
• Celebrate & Inspire – In order to get beyond the statistics and provide a more personal and individual picture of this issue, this section features the stories of individuals who have been affected by problem gambling, including problem gamblers and their family members, friends, colleagues and employers; treatment providers; advocates; and any others.
