GAMBLING DISORDERS 360°

On Tuesday, Oct. 12, the National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG) hosted a session for regulators and advisors at the 2010 International Association of Gaming Advisors (IAGA)/International Association of Gaming Regulations (IAGR) International Conference in Washington, D.C. The session, titled, “The Science of Gaming Regulations: Testing the Effectiveness of Regulations Designed to Reduce Gambling-related Harms,” featured a panel of experts who discussed the importance of scientific research in the development and evaluation of international gaming regulations designed to reduce gambling-related harms.

Removing barriers to treatment and recovery from addiction is one of the featured topics at the 11^th Annual NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction, scheduled for Nov. 14-16, 2010, at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino and the Las Vegas Convention Center in Nev. Mark Vander Linden, coordinator of the Iowa Gambling Treatment Program, and Janet Zwick, a healthcare consultant with Prairielands A.T.T.C., will present on “Improving Access to and Retention in Treatment: The NIATx Program in Iowa.” Founded in 2003 as the Network for the Improvement of Addiction Treatment, NIATx is designed to help payers (e.g., health insurance and government) and behavioral treatment providers improve the quality of and access to treatment for clients with addiction.

The early bird registration discount ends this Friday, Oct. 8!  Register now for the 11th annual NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addition, so you don’t miss your chance to learn how current issues in the field are redefining the way we diagnose, treat, study and prevent gambling disorders and how new research is impacting responsible gaming programs.  The conference will be held Nov. 14 – 16 at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino and the Las Vegas Convention Center in Nevada.  For more information or to register, visit the NCRG Conference website

Research on genetics, Texas Hold’em, decision-making, college gambling and using videogames in the treatment of gambling disorders are just a few of the intriguing topics of this year’s posters that will be presented at the 2010 NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction.

The National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), the largest counselor credentialing body in the U.S., has designated the Institute for Research on Gambling Disorders as an approved provider of continuing education. The primary purpose of the NBCC is to certify masters-level professional counselors. This approval means that counselors participating in educational activities sponsored by the Institute and the NCRG will earn continuing education hours that can be applied to the National Certified Counselor (NCC) credential.

The “Room for Debate” section of The New York Times recently posed the question, “Should Internet gambling be legalized?” Several respondents identified an increase in gambling addiction as the probable outcome if Congress lifts the current ban on online gambling in the United States. The belief that the easy access and social isolation of Internet gambling make it an especially risky behavior has become conventional wisdom.

The “Room for Debate” section of The New York Times recently posed the question,“Should Internet gambling be legalized?” Several respondents identified an increase in gambling addiction as the probable outcome if Congress lifts the current ban on online gambling in the United States (“Should Internet Gambling,” 2010; Chan, 2010). The belief that the easy access and social isolation of Internet gambling make it an especially risky behavior has become conventional wisdom. However, the question remains: are these concerns based on speculation or scientific research? Missing from The New York Times debate were the perspectives of scientists currently investigating the behaviors of Internet gamblers. A recent article in Addiction Research and Theory by Howard J. Shaffer and colleagues, “Toward a Paradigm Shift in Internet Gambling Research,” offers a comprehensive look at the research conducted to date, including summaries of their own investigations of the gambling patterns of customers of bwin, one of Europe’s largest online gambling companies (Shaffer et al., 2010).

The deadline to submit nominations for the NCRG’s 2010 Scientific Achievement Award is Friday, Sept. 17, 2010. The NCRG annually recognizes outstanding contributions to the field of gambling disorders and responsible gaming with the Scientific Achievement Award. The 2010 nominees can include research investigators, educators and a recent publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

The Employee Assistance Certification Commission (EACC) of the Employee Assistance Professional Association (EAPA) has approved the 2010 NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction for 14 Professional Development Hours (PDHs).

Defining and categorizing disordered gambling will be one of the featured topics at the 11^th annual NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction this November. In a presentation titled “Conceptualizing Problem Gambling: Cautionary Lessons from the Over-Pathologization of Depression and Substance Use,” Jerome C. Wakefield, DSW, PhD , a professor at New York University School of Medicine, will critique what he sees as psychiatry’s failure to draw adequate distinctions between disordered behavior, eccentric or unconventional behavior, and normal responses to stress (Wakefield, 2010).

Dr. Wakefield’s presentation will be a counterpoint to a preceding conference session focused on the proposed changes to pathological gambling in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) (American Psychiatric Association, 2010). The DSM is the handbook of mental disorders in the United States, used daily by health care providers, researchers, insurance companies and government agencies.