Why Be Concerned About Gambling Problems?

Addiction, bankruptcy, crime, corruption, child abuse, divorce, domestic violence, and suicide are some of the social costs associated with problem and pathological gambling. "Compulsive gamblers may use food or rent money, borrow from friends, pawn possessions or even steal from the workplace. At one sitting a compulsive gambler can easily go through a nest egg it took 20 years to save. The effect on families is devastating." (1) While the percentage of compulsive gamblers may be small, their impact is not.

University of Minnesota researchers found that 50% of wagers were placed by 1% of the gamblers and that 10% of gamblers accounted for 80% of wagers. (2)
Problem gamblers have a high propensity to commit crimes, in particularly forgery, theft, embezzlement, and fraud. (3) The National Gambling Impact Study Commission reported that "a third of problem gamblers and pathological gamblers had been arrested, compared to 10 percent of low-risk gamblers and 4 percent of non-gamblers. About 23 percent of pathological gamblers have been imprisoned, and so had 13 percent of problem gamblers. (4)
A survey of Gambler Anonymous members in Illinois, Wisconsin, and New Jersey found that 79% wanted to die, 67% contemplated suicide, 49% had a definite plan to kill themselves, and 18% had attempted a potentially lethal suicide attempt. (5)
A sampling of bankruptcy attorneys in Illinois indicated 10 to 15 percent of their clients identify gambling as a major contributor to bankruptcy. (6)
According to a state-funded study in Louisiana, nearly 30 percent of the revenue at the state’s riverboat casinos and 42 percent taken in by Indian casinos in 1998 came from people with gambling problems. (7) In Australia, problem gamblers account for 15% of regular gamblers and contribute between 35% and 39% of all gambling revenue. (8) Professor Earl Grinols estimated that three-eights to one-half of casino revenues will come from problem and pathological gamblers. (9)
Illinois Gaming Board findings from their first state survey of casinos gamblers showed that 15 percent to 20 percent of all the gamblers account for about half of all visits. (10) The patron survey also indicated that 58.8 percent of the regular customers held membership in slot clubs.*

*Slot clubs are used to track the gambling patterns of customers, reward people, and keep them gambling. Players must stay at the same machine for a certain length of time before they accumulate any points. Slot clubs lead people to believe they are winning while they are losing money.

Sources:

Mayo Today, "Health Tips: Don’t Let Gambling Make You a Loser", February, 1996, p. 17.
Smith & Craig, 1992. "Who’s In for How Much?" CURA Reporter. Tice, D.J., 1993, "Minnesota’s Big Gamble," St. Paul Pioneer Press, Special Reprint Section, Feb. P. 3.
The Economist, "A Busted Flush", January 25, 1997. P. 28.
National Gambling Impact Study Commission, Final Report, June, 1999, p. 7-14.
Statement by Dr. Henry R. Lesieur in a presentation to the National Conference on Gambling Behavior of the National Council on Problem Gambling, Chicago, Illinois, Sept, 1996.
Interviews of Bankruptcy Attorneys by Illinois Family Institute staff, from testimony of Joe Clark to the National Gambling Impact Study Commission, May 21, 1998.
"Study: Addicts pouring money into Indian casinos" by Scott Dyer, The Advocate, Capital City Press, April 22, 1999.
"Key Factors About Gambling In Australia" as Found & reported By the Productivity Commission Inquiry Into the Gambling Industry.
"Who Loses When Casinos Win?" By E.L. Grinols & J.D. Omorov, Illinois Business Review Spring, 1996, p. 7.
Chicago Sun-Times, "Riverboats’ typical gambler is female", by John Carpenter, April 8, 1998.