GAMBLING DISORDERS 360°

This week, the NCRG will be visiting Chicago for the 2013 Annual Education Summit! Each year, the NCRG conducts an Annual Education Summit in a different city to share information about the latest research on gambling disorders and make key stakeholders aware of the science-based programs and resources the NCRG has to offer. During the Annual Education Summit, the NCRG reaches out to a variety of stakeholders in gaming jurisdictions, including the casino industry, public policymakers, treatment providers, mental health professionals, regulators, scientists, university administrators and the general public.

Over the past 17 years, the NCRG has seen the value of building long-lasting partnerships in order to best address gambling disorders and responsible gaming as a public health issue.  From industry leaders to national public health organizations and government off

Last week, the NCRG and AGA released the winter 2013 edition of Responsible Gaming Quarterly. While developing this edition of RGQ, we had the opportunity to learn more about a communitywide partnership effort in Toledo, Ohio, to increase awareness of gambling disorders. 

From government and law enforcement to social services, community leaders came together in 2012 to take the steps necessary to increase community involvement and address the issue through education initiatives. This initiative is called The Toledo Pledge.

Yesterday, the NCRG and AGA released the winter 2013 edition of Responsible Gaming Quarterly yesterday. In its 10th year, Responsible Gaming Quarterly is a free publication that provides a broad range of coverage on recent research results, regulatory efforts, studies and developments in the treatment field and best practices for community programs that encourage responsible gaming.

Register today for one of the more popular training sessions that the NCRG has held for clinicians: Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Problem Gambling. This one-hour free webinar, led by Lisa Najavits, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine and NCRG Scientific Advisory Board member, will be held Friday, Feb. 8 from 2-3 p.m. EST and participants will receive 1 CEU for their attendance.

To coincide with its 10^th anniversary, the American Gaming Association (AGA) released an updated version of its Code of Conduct for Responsible Gaming, which reflects the various ways the gaming entertainment industry has evolved during the past decade.

One goal of the NCRG’s research program is to help investigators share their research findings with the larger addiction and mental health research communities. Because new research on gambling disorders is not usually represented at the premiere scientific meetings, the NCRG’s grants program established a Travel Grants category to support the participation of young gambling investigators in conferences such as the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, the American Psychological Association, the Society for Neuroscience and other meetings.

For 2013, the NCRG is excited to allocate $950,000 for funding new research for its competitive project grants program. This year, the research grants will be awarded in four previously-awarded categories.

Earlier this week, the NCRG announced it awarded more than $870,000 in 2012 to support 10 new research projects that will help to improve methods of diagnosis, intervention, treatment and prevention of gambling disorders.

In the spirit of end-of-the-year highlights lists, the NCRG staff perused the approximately 500 peer-reviewed publications released in 2012 to determine the most noteworthy studies in the field of gambling disorders and addiction.

Narrowing our list of 10 publications was a challenging task. Therefore, we decided to highlight articles that may predict future trends in research. We salute these authors and all of the investigators who are working to understand gambling disorders.