GAMBLING DISORDERS 360°

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.

The use of Native American traditions to heal addiction is one of the featured topics at the 11^th Annual NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction on Nov. 14-16, 2010, at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino and the Las Vegas Convention Center in Nev. Don Coyhis, a member of the Mohican Nation, will hold a session titled “The Wellbriety Movement: Drawing on Native American Tools to Heal from Addiction.”

Wellbriety, a combination of the words “well” and “sobriety,” is a concept of recovery that focuses on a “quality sobriety.” This concept is rooted in Native American cultural values such as respect for all living things and responsibility to self and the community. Coyhis has been teaching the concepts of Wellbriety for 20 years and has held trainings in more than 100 Native American communities, personally training more than 2,000 leaders.

The use of Native American traditions to heal addiction is one of the featured topics at the 11^th Annual NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction on Nov. 14-16, 2010, at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino and the Las Vegas Convention Center in Nev. Don Coyhis, a member of the Mohican Nation, will hold a session titled “The Wellbriety Movement: Drawing on Native American Tools to Heal from Addiction.”

Wellbriety, a combination of the words “well” and “sobriety,” is a concept of recovery that focuses on a “quality sobriety.” This concept is rooted in Native American cultural values such as respect for all living things and responsibility to self and the community. Coyhis has been teaching the concepts of Wellbriety for 20 years and has held trainings in more than 100 Native American communities, personally training more than 2,000 leaders.

The American Academy of Health Care Providers in the Addictive Disorders has approved 14 hours of continuing education offered by the NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction, scheduled for Nov. 14-16, 2010 in Las Vegas. Clinicians who attend the conference will be allowed to apply the 14 continuing education hours toward their certification as Certified Addiction Specialists (CAS) and Certified Gambling Addiction Specialists (CGAS).

The American Academy of Health Care Providers in the Addictive Disorders has approved 14 hours of continuing education offered by the NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction, scheduled for Nov. 14-16, 2010 in Las Vegas. Clinicians who attend the conference will be allowed to apply the 14 continuing education hours toward their certification as Certified Addiction Specialists (CAS) and Certified Gambling Addiction Specialists (CGAS).

A new review article from the principal investigators of the NCRG Centers of Excellence in Gambling Research at Yale University and the University of Minnesota explores the potential of pharmacological treatments for disordered gambling in adolescents. It is important to identify an effective treatment for this age group, as adolescents are at a higher risk for developing gambling-related problems than adults.  However, no drug trials focused on pathological gambling have been conducted with this age group.