Key Indicators of the Transition from Social to Problem Gambling

At the International Gambling Conference: Policy, Practice and Research in 2004 (Clarke, eCommunity-International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 3:29–40, 2005), a paper was presented which proposed key indicators of the transition from social to problem gambling and to recovery, based on a review of literature on factors leading to substance abuse. They included availability of gambling activities, lack of social and cultural empowerment, low socioeconomic status, and personal loss of control. Subsequently, a multidisciplinary team collected data on why people gamble. Four New Zealand ethnic groups (Päkehä/New Zealand European, Mäori, Pacific peoples and Asians) in South Auckland were targeted for both phases of the study. Phase 1 involved qualitative analysis of data from individual interviews and focus groups. Phase 2 surveyed 345 adults using a questionnaire developed from the first phase. From both phases, key indicators for problem gambling were similar to the indicators for substance abuse. Public health interventions such as reducing access to electronic gaming machines and empowerment of cultural groups, and a longitudinal study of the development of gambling in the community are suggested.