Oct 7, 2022 | PROBLEM GAMBLING, RESEARCH
Read the original article on The BASIS.
By Caitlyn Matykiewicz, MPH
Social casino games have become very popular during the past decade. Typically played on mobile devices, these online games are connected to social networking sites, allowing players to see their scores on leaderboards and share results with their friends. Social casino games resemble gambling activities like slot machines (aka electronic gambling machines [EGMs]), even including similar sounds and offering in-game purchases or microtransactions with rewards of virtual points. Because they are free to play and the player cannot win any real money from the outcome, social casino games are not currently considered gambling. However, people who play simulated gambling games, such as social casino gamers, might be more likely to experience gambling problems. This week, The WAGER reviews a study by Hyoun S. Kim and colleagues that investigated motives for playing social casino games and transitioning between social casino games and gambling.
What were the research questions?
Why do people who gamble play social casino games? Why do people transition from social casino games to gambling? Why do people transition from gambling to social casino games?
What did the researchers do?
The researchers recruited 269 United States residents who both gambled and played social casino games. Through an online survey, participants provided their top three reasons for playing social casino games, transitioning to gambling after playing social casino games, and transitioning to social casino gaming after gambling. Participants also completed the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI). The researchers conducted a thematic analysis of participant responses and identified key motives for each of the three research questions.
What did they find?
For all three research questions, the most frequently mentioned motive was playing for enhancement–in other words, to experience fun, entertainment, excitement, or thrill (see Figure). Participants also played social casino games to alleviate boredom (46%) and for social reasons (29%). Among participants who started with social casino games and transitioned to gambling, 70% reported the opportunity to win real money as a motive for doing so. Availability (42%) and affordability (31%) were common reasons for switching from gambling to social casino games. Gambling-harm minimization was another motive for playing social casino games, among all participants (17%) and among those who transitioned from gambling (28%). Motives for playing social casino games did not differ by PGSI score category.
Figure. Top two reported motives for why people (a) play social casino games, (b) transition from social casino games to gambling, and (c) transition from gambling to social casino games.
Why do these findings matter?
Social casino games can be a potential precursor to gambling and gambling problems. A majority of participants reported that they began gambling as a way to win real money, which is concerning because social casino games have inflated payout rates that could give players a false perception of skill. Players should be informed that their odds of winning in social casino games do not necessarily reflect the odds of winning in gambling.
On the other hand, many participants reported playing social casino games to reduce the chance of gambling harm, as it can satisfy their urge to gamble without them risking any real money. Social casino games may be a potential harm reduction strategy to help people with gambling problems cut down on their gambling behavior, though more research is needed to determine its effectiveness and the harm that results from spending too much time on social casino gaming.
Every study has limitations. What are the limitations in this study?
Participants were limited to United States residents who both gambled and played social casino games, so the results might not be generalizable to people who live in other countries or to people who currently play social casino games but have not yet transitioned to gambling. Because this study was cross-sectional, we also cannot determine whether any of these motives actually caused changes in social casino gaming or gambling behavior.
For more information:
Do you think you or someone you know has a gambling problem? Visit the National Council on Problem Gambling for screening tools and resources. For additional resources, including gambling and self-help tools, please visit our Addiction Resources page.
Aug 10, 2022 | RESEARCH
Susan Sheridan Tucker provides a breakdown of the pre-conference sessions provided by the National Council on Problem Gambling on June 8-9.
One of the unanticipated benefits of the COVID pandemic is the variety of excellent content available on virtual platforms. NCPG has pivoted to providing conference content via Zoom for the past two years. This year, while committed to meeting in person in Boston in July, two half-day virtual sessions were added for those seeking CEUs who might not be able to travel and for those seeking supplemental information to the in-person conference.
This year, 30-minute sessions were offered on an array of topics. The first day’s sessions included:
- Updates on this year’s past legislation.
- The not-to-be ignored rise in women sports betting.
- Black women sharing their recovery stories and how they carved out recovery paths that met their cultural needs.
- The ability to track markers of harm for online gamblers and what some operators are doing to communicate with players with problematic gambling.
- The promotion of International Gambling Counselor Certification Board (IGCCB)-approved gaming disorder training.
- A provider’s ruminating over lessons learned in creating a problem gambling treatment program from scratch and living to tell the tale.
- An awareness alert about gambling activites in the expanding metaverse – the creation of casinos and other gambling venues within virtual worlds in which one’s aviator is actually engaged in gambling activities.
The second day did not disappoint. The sessions included:
- The Massachusetts Council explained how it has instituted remote self-exclusion applications in conjunction with its successful Game Sense program.
- Descriptions of the emotional rollercoaster a family experiences when living with a person with problem gambling.
- Learning what a public health response to sports betting looks like in the state of Maryland.
- A summary of the wildly diverse and disjointed implementation of sports betting and regulations in 25-plus states.
- Building and implementing diversity, equity and inclusion into community outreach practices in the state of Massachusetts.
- The announcement of the new national helpline number, 1-800-GAMBLER, and the NCPG modernization project that will improve services for states without their own helplines and improve transitions to ensure anyone who calls is directed to their appropriate state helpline. (See separate article on 1-800-GAMBLER.)
The programs were stimulating, always leaving me to ponder how we can do better in Minnesota. It also left me a bit envious of some of my colleagues in other states who are provided appropriate funding for their problem gambling programs, integrating care, services, research and, above all, are able to acknowledge and respond to gambling disorder as a public health issue.
Aug 10, 2022 | ADVOCACY
As the pandemic turns endemic, MNAPG has had more opportunity to do in-person outreach. Here’s a look at some of the recent efforts undertaken by Sonja Mertz, MNAPG’s community educator, and Susan Sheridan Tucker, MNAPG’s executive director.
Presentations
º February 2022: A virtual presentation for 20 staff members of the University of Minnesota Duluth Health Services, which included nursing, mental health and administrative staff members.
º March 2022: Susan was excited to present to Kevin Spading's class on Problem Gambling. Kevin has been on the forefront of presenting at least some content on problem gambling to his students for years. This year marks his first full semester offering problem gambling.
º April 2022: A presentation at the Metro State University Recovery Conference that focused on gambling and college students. The presentation was well received.
Exhibits
With conferences beginning to return to their normal formats, we had the opportunity to exhibit at the Minnesota Social Services Association and the Minnesota Psychological Association conferences this spring. In an effort to reach less traditional audiences, MNAPG has also been exhibiting at more community-based events, including senior citizen health expos, the Minnesota Parent Teacher Association Conference, the Military Mental Health Conference at Camp Ripley, and the Minneapolis Community Connections Conference.
A Seat at the Table
In April, Sonja had the opportunity to join the Minnesota Suicide Prevention Taskforce, housed under the Department of Health. This will be our opportunity to bring awareness about the impact that suicide plays in problem gambling and to ensure that language about problem gambling and gambling disorder is included in strategic planning for the
2023-2027 Minnesota State Suicide Prevention Plan.
Susan was recently appointed to the Hennepin County Local Advisory Council on Adult Mental Health. This group has been meeting for over two decades and has provided the county with significant feedback and input on its mental health services. As Hennepin County continues to identify where the gaps are in mental health services, Susan is advocating for awareness about the prevalence of co-morbidity of gambling disorder and mental health issues.
MNAPG will continue to explore opportunities in which we can be a voice at the table and increase awareness of gambling disorder.
If you’d like to have MNAPG provide a presentation to a group or at a conference, please contact Sonja Mertz at smertz@mnapg.org.
Aug 10, 2022 | PROBLEM GAMBLING, RECOVERY, STORIES
I was exposed to a variety of games early in my life. Our family played Pokeno — which is how I learned to play cards — and spun dreidels, which was the first game I played that involved money. I won my first big pot at the age of five years old.
As I got a little older, I played poker and pinochle. I remember losing all my money in poker to my neighbors but then watching my father bail me out by winning it all back. I enjoyed the thrill of being a part of that.
I went to a casino for the first time at 21. I enjoyed it. Then, at about age 30, I met a man who also enjoyed gambling. We started playing Bingo a lot and pull tabs. I remember finding Bingo to be slow, so I played multiple cards and also pull tabs between games.
It was about this time when I started to become preoccupied with gambling. I began lying to myself and others about money. I lost a job directly because of errors in my work due to my gambling, which I sometimes did for 24-36 hours before work.
Eventually, I started attending GA meetings with my husband, but mainly to support him. I looked at the others and thought they had more problems than I did. There was a part of me that wanted to stop, but my desire to continue gambling was greater than my desire to not gamble.
I rationalized that gambling helped me when I was feeling depressed, as I would otherwise just stay home and sleep. I became suicidal, but since I only felt that way when I wasn’t gambling, I convinced myself that I should keep gambling.
Eventually, I realized that my gambling was a symptom of a deeper problem. Gambling was a part of keeping feelings down — guilt, shame, remorse, etc. I was doing things that were against my core principles, such as lying to dear friends, writing bad checks, losing jobs, more drinking and depression. I rationalized some of my behavior by thinking that I hadn’t gone to prison or killed anyone.
While I stopped gambling for periods of time, I couldn’t stop completely. My finances were in ruin and I was full of anger toward myself and my out-of-control behavior. Thanks to my fellow GA members, I was eventually hospitalized for a second time for depression and then went on to treatment for my gambling. The last time I gambled was on February 19, 2011.
I learned that you can find hope and meaning from the most unlikely of sources. In my gambling fog, I had neglected so many things, including my dog and my plants. While I was away, a friend cared for my house, including my plants. When I returned home, I saw that my tomato plant had somehow survived and was even sprouting new life; I refer to it as Lazarus the Tomato Plant. I took that as a sign that I was going to grow a new life as well.
I can’t believe all the positive things about my life. I’m proud of who I am today and the work I do with the GA program. In the past, I thought only of myself. Now I think of others and volunteer my talents whenever possible. I’ve grown personally. I challenge myself to do things that make me uncomfortable. I enjoy trying new things and taking new approaches in my life of recovery.
If people reading this are on the fence about whether to seek help, I would tell them to keep coming back. Although I was initially not working the GA program when I attended the meetings, they still helped me — the seeds eventually took. I would encourage others to hang on to the desire to stop gambling. It doesn’t have to be an armload of desire; it can be a smidgeon. The desire to stop gambling just has to be greater than the desire to gamble.
Aug 10, 2022 | PROBLEM GAMBLING, RESOURCES
The National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) has entered into a six-year license agreement with the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey, Inc. (CCGNJ) for the use of their 1-800-GAMBLER® federally registered service mark in all U.S. states outside of New Jersey, as well as all U.S. territories and the District of Columbia.
This builds on NCPG’s multi-year National Problem Gambling Helpline Modernization Project. The project, supported by a grant from the National Football League Foundation in 2021, will improve call center technology, data collection and reporting, as well as upgrade criteria and offer standardized training and certification for call centers across the National Problem Gambling Helpline Network.
“The Modernization Project will allow us to make significant improvements to the operations, technology and infrastructure of the network to keep up with the ever-growing need for problem gambling resources,” said Keith Whyte, executive director of NCPG.
So what does this mean for Minnesota’s helpline? Once a helpline is well established, it’s important to keep the helpline number. “One never wants to be in a situation when someone in need calls a helpline number and finds it’s been disconnected,” says Susan Sheridan Tucker, MNAPG executive director.
While the Minnesota Department of Human Services will ultimately make the decision, MNAPG will recommend continued use of 1-800-333-HOPE in all in-state publications, brochures, etc. However, when the day comes that sports betting is approved, MNAPG will advise that the 1-800-GAMBLER number be used, especially with regard to intrastate games and advertising. The use of one number will also help in the production of ads that often have to include several state helpline numbers when the ad audience is multi-state. Use of 1-800-GAMBLER would enable anyone from anywhere to call one number and be directed to their specific state helpline (if the state has its own vendor, like Minnesota).
The one aspect that will add another step is if someone purchased their cell number in one state and is currently calling from another state, their call will be directed to the state covering the originating area code. This is true for every helpline in the nation except for 911. Federal legislation must be passed in order for this technological change to happen. Until then, NCPG will work to improve its warm transfers when this situation arises.
