Study renews problem gambling debate

David Strow

Monday, March 25, 2002 | 10:58 a.m.

A new state-funded study has done little to answer the long-debated question of the extent of gambling addiction in Nevada.

But despite a contentious disagreement over the exact number of problem gamblers, many agreed on one thing -- the study will provide ammunition to efforts to get public funding to combat problem gambling.

"It shows this is a public health issue and something we need to address as such," said Bo Bernhard, director of operations at Problem Gambling Consultants, a Las Vegas-based treatment center for problem gamblers. "If you're a legislator, you've yet to see any numbers. I'm thrilled we have the numbers."

Bill Bible, executive director of the Nevada Resort Association, said several of the organization's members were already working with state legislators to draft a bill that would earmark public funds for problem gambling treatment and education. A similar bill, which would have provided $250,000, died in last year's session -- leaving Nevada as one of the few gambling jurisdictions to provide no public funds for problem gambling.

If such a bill re-emerges, Bible said the NRA would push it.

"It has to be given greater emphasis by this state," Bible said.

While there was agreement the study showed gambling addiction was a problem in Nevada -- and that the state needed to act to fight that problem -- there was great disagreement over how widespread that problem really is.

The survey, conducted by Massachusetts research firm Gemini Research, used a problem gambling test called the "South Oaks Gambling Screen" (SOGS) on telephone surveys with Nevadans in 2000. She concluded from this survey that anywhere from 4.9 percent to 7.9 percent of the state's population could be considered current problem or pathological gamblers.

In absolute numbers, Volberg estimated 40,100 to 63,900 Nevadans currently suffer from pathological gambling disorders. That's anywhere from 2.7 percent to 4.3 percent of the state's population.

Another 32,700 to 53,500 -- 2.2 percent to 3.6 percent of the state -- could be considered problem gamblers, a less severe form of gambling addiction.

The median of her estimate for problem and pathological gamblers was 6.4 percent of the state's population. Among gamblers exclusively, she estimated 7.6 percent suffered from gambling addiction; among those who gambled at least once a week, 17.6 percent.

Assuming 3 percent of problem and pathological gamblers sought treatment in any given year, Nevada has to provide funding for up to 1,900 patients a year, Volberg said. In addition to state funding, Volberg said the state should work with insurance companies to provide coverage for gambling addiction treatment programs.

Problem is, SOGS isn't the accepted form for identifying problem gamblers today. Now, researchers rely more on the NORC DSM Screen for Problem Gambling (NODS), which is considered by many to be a more accurate test.

When the same survey was conducted with NODS, the extent of problem and pathological gambling in Nevada came in at 2.1 percent.

This would actually be below the national average suggested by Howard Shaffer, director of the Division on Addictions at Harvard Medical School. Shaffer's 1997 study, funded by the gaming industry, concluded that 1.1 percent of the U.S. population could be considered current pathological gamblers. Shaffer has estimated another 2 to 3 percent could be classified as current problem gamblers.

Scott Scherer, a member of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, said he didn't know what the true number of gambling addicts in Nevada was -- but he didn't believe it was 6.4 percent. SOGS, he argued, gave far too many "false positives."

"With SOGS, I would qualify as a lifetime problem gambler," Scherer said. "I rarely gamble, and I've never lost what I consider to be an excessive amount of money."

Volberg responded that the SOGS study was the only way to give Nevada officials what they were looking for -- a way to compare the prevalence of problem gambling in Nevada to other states. Ten other states had conducted studies using SOGS, she said, but only one state had done so with NODS.

"The first question legislators ask is, 'How do I compare to the people next door?' " Volberg said.

When compared to the other 10 states, Nevada showed the highest prevalence of problem gambling, Volberg said -- and an unusually high portion of gambling addicts who could be considered pathological gamblers. The next closest state to Nevada was Mississippi, which showed a 5 percent problem/pathological gambling rate in 1996.

The study also showed what forms of gambling Nevada problem gamblers engage in. Among regular casino gamblers, the rate of problem gambling was 8.7 percent, Volberg said.

But it was higher for other forms of gambling. Among those that played non-casino gaming machines, such as video poker machines in grocery stores or convenience stores, the rate of problem gambling was 12 percent. And for those that engaged in "private" gambling -- that is, any kind of non-commercial, non-regulated gambling -- the rate exceeded 17 percent.

Bible said this finding strengthened the case for the state to provide funds for problem gambling treatment and research. Currently, funding for Nevada's problem gambling efforts comes largely from the casino industry itself.

"This illustrates that this issue is a community problem, and it needs to be addressed by the community," Bible said. "They're not necessarily in the casino environment."

But if Nevada provides funds, Volberg said, those funds must be carefully targeted to people who are most likely to become problem gamblers.

Her study, for example, said that 21 percent of Nevada problem gamblers had alcohol problems in the last year, compared to just 5.2 percent of the general population. One-third of problem gamblers reported having been incarcerated at one time in their lives, compared to less than 20 percent of the general population.

That suggested treatment and education dollars could go further if targeted in alcohol treatment programs and the criminal justice system, Volberg said.

Volberg conducted a separate study on the extent of problem gambling within Nevada's adolescent population -- those between 13 and 17 years of age.

Using a simplified form of SOGS, the survey found 2.2 percent of Nevada teens could be classified as problem gamblers. Another 9.9 percent were found to be at risk of developing a gambling addiction.

Still, this figure was not any higher than in states that do not have legalized gambling, such as Georgia or Texas, Volberg said. Problem gambling education in Nevada's schools could be a reason, she said.

"This figure may be an indication that public awareness and education can be quite effective (in preventing problem gambling)," Volberg said.

Very little adolescent gambling is occurring in casinos, Volberg found. Just 2.5 percent of Nevada teens reported they had ever gambled in a casino. Among at-risk teens, the number of casino gamblers was 3.3 percent; among problem gamblers, 10.7 percent.

By contrast, more than 80 percent of teenage at-risk or problem gamblers had wagered on a private card, dice or board game at some point in their lives. More than 53 percent of at-risk and 46 percent of problem gamblers reported wagering on arcade games. More than 20 percent of at-risk and nearly 18 percent of problem gamblers reported betting on the lottery; and 4.8 percent of at-risk teens and 18 percent of problem teens reported gambling at least once on the Internet.

This suggests that the casinos are quite effective in keeping minors from gambling, Volberg said.

"It's also possible, in a fully mature gambling economy, that (casinos) just aren't cool," Volberg said.