By engaging students in conversation about problem gambling, the UCLA Gambling Studies Program research team is spreading the word about National Problem Gambling Awareness Week on campus, one person at a time.
“The goal is to have students continue spreading the word after departing from the table,” said Dr. Timothy Fong, co-director of the UCLA Gambling Studies Program. Educating the public about gambling needs to be more constant and not just reserved for one week, he added.
“The goal is not to get rid of gambling or suggest it is a bad behavior,” Fong said. “It is important to show that, for a small number of individuals, it can become a disease with signs and symptoms like any physical ailment or addiction.”
An ongoing study conducted by Fong’s research team, the UCLA Gambling Studies Program collected responses from UCLA students about gambling behavior patterns, specifically about Internet gambling.
So far, the program has found that 75 percent of the approximately 900 students sampled have gambled and 63 percent have gambled on the Internet, 20 percent of which do so for money.
These preliminary frequencies paint a picture of the prominence of gambling on campus, Fong said. Further analysis for this ongoing study, which is currently collecting more student responses, will determine what percentages may be at risk or problematic.
“Gambling is recreation with risk, just like deciding to skydive,” said Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling. “Since young people are risk-takers, it is important for them to be aware of the potential harm of any risky behavior.”
In the general public, 2 to 3 percent of the U.S. population has had a gambling problem in any given year, according to the National Council on Problem Gambling.
Young people have become more involved with gambling in recent years, said Dr. Richard Rosenthal, co-director of the Gambling Studies Program. There are many reasons for this, he added, including the recent poker craze with its televised tournaments as well as Internet gambling.
“Technology drives this field and permits faster games and more interactive gambling.” Rosenthal said. “It is changing faster than anyone’s ability to study or recognize the social consequences.”
With gambling technology constantly growing and finding newer and better niches, Whyte said his organization has turned to technology as well, sending out digital advertisements on Facebook. The ads will not take any stance on gambling, but instead they will promote risk awareness and offer information such as where to find help, Whyte said.
Other efforts include sending out text messages and making National Problem Gambling Awareness Week an international affair by setting up branches and outreach programs to spread the word.
“There is an instinctual understanding about the risks of gambling,” Whyte said. “But that does not translate into awareness about treatment, recovery or support options.”
Most people are aware that gambling can become a real addiction, but many are still amazed at the brain changes that are observed in pathological gamblers, as well as gambling’s genetic component and ability to be treated with real drugs.
In the past, gambling was viewed as an ethical problem, Fong said. New research is breaking through those ideas and unveiling the truth about gambling as an uncontrollable compulsive behavior, but research is still far from understanding this complex behavioral addiction, he added.
The outreach program is a nationwide attempt to educate the public and health-care professionals about the warning signs of problem gambling, and provide information about treatment options available for those who may be suffering from problematic effects of gambling.
After 25 years of working with gamblers, Rosenthal sees problem gambling as a constantly evolving phenomenon.
“It takes so long for things to change, but at the same time, they change very quickly.”
With technology in a constant upward flux, staying informed about the risks of gambling have become a pivotal part of the National Council on Problem Gambling’s effort to keep the public aware.