In recent years, the gambling market has seen huge expansion. As the gambling industry continues to grow, responsible gaming experts are concerned that problem gambling rates will rise along with it – but a new study suggests that this is not the case. A recent study from the University at Buffalo Research Institute on Addictions (RIA) determined that there is no link between gambling expansion and problem gambling rates.
The research team compared the results of two surveys that were conducted a decade apart to find out how new gambling opportunities affected problem gamblers. The first set of surveys took place in 1999-2000 and 2613 people were interviewed. The second set of surveys took pace in 2011-2013 and 2963 people were interviewed.
In each set of surveys, the participants were asked about their gambling habits. They were asked about their involvement in a wide range of gambling activities, such as card games, office pools, casino gambling and lotteries. During the second set of surveys, several new activities were added to the options, in line with the development of the modern gaming market. From 1999 to 2013, gambling addiction rates remained stable.
Problem gambling stayed between 3.5% and 5.5% while pathological gambling remained between 1% and 2.4. This is very interesting to note. Although online casinos have made gambling more accessible than ever, problem gambling rates have not increased.
“We found no significant increase in the rates of problem gambling in the U.S., despite a nationwide increase in gambling opportunities,” says John W. Welte, PhD, senior research scientist at RIA. Additionally, the study found that overall gambling participation has decreased. During the 1999-2000 survey, 82.2% of respondents noted that they had gambled within the past year, compared to 76.9% percent in the more recent survey.
The average number of days spent gambling also dropped from 59.9 days per year to 53.7 days per year.
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