Excessive gambling and substance abuse: is there a relationship? (2002)

ENGLISH :
Despite all the inherent problems outlined above, gambling is without doubt a potential health issue. There is an urgent need to enhance awareness within the medical and health professions (including addiction researchers) about gambling-related problems and to develop effective strategies to prevent and treat problem gambling. It is also clear that gambling is often associated with various substance abuse disorders (i.e. co-morbidity) and that intervention, prevention and treatment strategies must address this also. It is our contention that most researchers within the gambling addiction field are well aware of this but that very few researchers within the substance abuse field consider excessive gambling as a co-occurring disorder. Further work is needed in a number of areas relating to risk factors for excessive gambling and their relationship to substance abuse. Following the recommendations of (and building on) the US National Research Council, these could potentially include: 1/ Longitudinal research that explores the changing nature of risk factors from childhood to adolescence and into adulthood and their (inter)relationship with substance abuse. 2/ Research that controls for important sociodemographic variables in the study of the acquisition, development and maintenance of risk factors of co-morbidity involving excessive gambling. 3/ Family and twin studies to determine familial risk factors for co-morbidity with problem gambling. 4/ Studies that use adequate and diverse samples (racial or ethnic minorities, females, rural/urban, etc.) when investigating gambling-related co-morbid disorders. 5/ Research on risk taking and other dimensions of impulse control among co-morbid groups - using adequate controls. 6/ Studies to determine whether factors are risk factors or consequences of gambling co-morbidity. 7/ Research that identifies whether certain games may be gateways to subsequent gambling problems, just as previous research indicates there are gateway drugs (e.g. cigarettes, marijuana) that precede the use of hard drugs (e.g. heroin). It is inevitable that a small minority of people will become casualties of gambling directly as a result of the increasing deregulation of gambling, and therefore help should be provided for the problem gamblers. Since gambling is here to stay and is effectively state sponsored, governments should consider giving priority funding (out of taxes raised from gambling revenue) to organizations and health practitioners who provide advice, counselling and treatment for people with severe gambling problems. (Extract of the publication)