Celebrating Dr. Howard Shaffer’s Legacy in Gambling Research
The International Center for Responsible Gaming (ICRG) proudly honors Dr. Howard Shaffer upon his retirement. As the recipient of ICRG’s first-ever research grant, Dr. Shaffer has been instrumental in shaping the scientific understanding of gambling behavior and addiction. His contributions have informed policy, industry practices, and academic discourse worldwide.
ICRG President Art Paikowsky shares, “Dr. Shaffer’s dedication to advancing research in gambling studies has been truly transformative.”
We thank Dr. Shaffer for his incredible impact and wish him the best in this new chapter!
1996
Estimating the Prevalence of Disordered Gambling Behavior in the United States and Canada: A Meta-Analysis
Principal Investigator: Howard J. Shaffer, Ph.D., C.A.S., Harvard Medical School
Awarded $140,000 in 1996
Aim: Conduct a meta-analytic strategy to synthesize estimates of gambling disorder from 119 prevalence studies to determine a national rate of gambling disorder in the adult general population and subpopulations in the US and Canada. The findings were praised by the National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council Committee on the Social and Economic Impact of Pathological Gambling as the most reliable estimates to date (Pathological Gambling: A Critical Review, 1999).
1998
The Harvard Project on Gambling and Health
Principal Investigator: Howard J. Shaffer, Ph.D., C.A.S., Harvard Medical School
Awarded $465,069 in 1998
Aim: Investigate several streams of research on gambling and gambling disorders: 1) prevalence and measuring prevalence; (2) a public health framework for gambling; 3) a three-year study of the health risks of casino employees; (4) how gambling and other behavioral addictions are changing the notion of addiction; and (5) trends in gambling research and publications.
2001
Institute for Research on Pathological Gambling and Related Disorders
Principal Investigator: Howard J. Shaffer, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School and Cambridge Health Alliance
Awarded $1.14 million a year from 2001 – 2009
The NCRG delegated the research and education functions of the NCRG to the Division on Addiction, Harvard Medical School (HMS) and Cambridge Health Alliance, a teaching hospital of HMS, from 2001 to 2009. This grant supported the intramural research conducted by the Division on Addiction faculty and also the extramural research grants program that sponsored the research projects listed in this section from 2001 through 2008.
