The NCRG recently awarded an NCRG Center of Excellence in Gambling Research and four Seed Grants. The center grant of $355,001 was awarded toDr. Wendy Slutskeat theUniversity of Missouri, Columbia. Dr. Slutske’s project seeks to fill the void of research on community-based studies of gambling disorder. Because so few disordered gamblers seek treatment, treatment populations cannot be considered representative of all disordered gamblers; hence, the need for broad community-based studies to answer questions about the origins and trajectory of gambling disorder.

Focusing on four unique datasets from Sweden, New Zealand, Australia and a US sample of reservation-dwelling Native Americans, Slutske’s team will pursue the following questions: (1) is living in a disadvantaged neighborhood a (potentially malleable) environmental cause of disordered gambling (DG), and if so, why? (2) where among the ~20,000 genes in the human genome are the variants associated with the risk for DG, and do these overlap with the genetic variants associated with the risk for other conditions such as alcohol use disorder?, (3) are there certain environments in which the genetic risk for DG is more likely to be expressed?, (4) when in the life course is DG more or less likely to first emerge?, and (5) are the causes of DG similar across the lifespan?

The NCRG also recently awarded four Seed Grants:

Seed Grant:“Gambling and Traumatic Stress: Analyses in Veteran and Community Samples”

Principal Investigator: Joshua B. Grubbs, PhD, Bowling Green State University

Awarded $34,500

Aim: Deepen the knowledge of the co-occurrence of gambling disorder and post-traumatic stress, by specifically examining the dispositional, motivational, and cognitive aspects of the known relationships between the two domains. Using two samples of veterans in a residential treatment program and an online, community sample of gambling adults, the project seeks to examine how symptoms of post-traumatic stress may be related to a tendency toward negative emotion (i.e., trait neuroticism), gambling-related cognitions (i.e., positive expectancies about gambling), and motivation to use gambling to cope with or escape from negative emotion.

Seed Grant:“The Effectsof Sensory Reward Cues on Decision Making under Risk in Healthy Volunteers and Problem Gamblers”

Principal Investigator: Mariya Cherkasova, PhD, University of British Columbia

Awarded $34,500

Aim: Understand the effects that sensory reward cues have on risky decision making in both healthy volunteers and disordered gamblers through a laboratory tasks; for example, measuring the impact of cues using eye tracking.

Seed Grant:“At‐risk Gambling in Credit Counseling: Prevalence and Feasibility of Brief Intervention

Principal Investigator: Paul Sacco, PhD, University of Maryland, Baltimore

Awarded $34,500

Aims: (1) To pilot screening for problem gambling in a sample of adults who seek services from a national consumer credit counseling organization; (2) To compare prevalence of at-risk gambling in consumer credit counseling users to national estimates; and (3) To evaluate the perceived acceptability and feasibility of gambling screening from the perspective of credit counselors.

Seed Grant:“The Role of Recovery Capital and Gender Differences in Recovery from Gambling Disorder – A Mixed Methods Design”

Principal Investigator: Belle Gavriel-Fried, PhD, Tel Aviv University

Awarded $34,500

Aims: (1) Examine the applicability of the concept of Recovery Capital to recovery from gambling addiction; and (2) probe gender differences in relation to their recovery and recovery capital. One-hundred and forty individuals who terminated treatment of gambling disorders in the previous 1-5 years will be asked to complete questionnaires including the gambling follow-up scale, the DSM-5 GD, the Assessment of Recovery Capital, and 3 open-ended questions.

NCRG staffICRG Newsaddiction research grantsgambling researchgrantsUniversity of Missouri

The NCRG is pleased to announce that nearly $2 million was pledged to research and education on gambling disorder in 2016. Several major casino operators pledged $1.155 million to support the organization’s mission of funding innovative research and education about gambling disorder and responsible gaming. An additional $610,000 was raised through annual contributions and conference sponsorships. These commitments put the NCRG over the $27 million mark in fundraising since its establishment in 1996. Support from the gaming industry continues to help fuel groundbreaking research in this field, and the NCRG counts on these commitments to increase our understanding of gambling disorders and responsible gaming.

The companies that renewed multi-year funding pledges during this campaign include:

• Las Vegas Sands Corp. ($900,000 over three years)

• Penn National Gaming ($180,000 over three years)

• Pinnacle Entertainment ($75,000 over three years)

An additional $610,000 was raised through payments on past pledges, single year contributions and conference sponsorships from the following companies:

• MGM Resorts International ($312,000)

• Boyd Gaming Corporation ($80,000)

• Wynn Resorts ($60,000)

• Rush Street Gaming ($50,000)

• Isle of Capri Casinos ($54,000)

• IGT ($15,000)

• Potawatomi Hotel & Casino ($10,000)

• Betsson Group ($8,000)

• Caesars Entertainment, Inc. ($5,000)

• William Hill US ($5,000)

• Seneca Gaming Corporation ($5,000)

• GameCo ($3,000)

• BMM Testlabs ($3,000)

The NCRG continues to make a significant impact by increasing understanding of gambling disorder and responsible gaming through high-quality research and science-based resources. As of December 31st, 2016, NCRG-funded research has produced more than 332 articles in top-tier peer-reviewed publications, leading to a number of significant advancements in the field’s knowledge of gambling disorder prevalence, promising treatment strategies and youth gambling.

The NCRG has also developed peerless educational trainings–including the regional clinician workshops and webinars–and publications that are designed to bridge the gap between research and clinical practice. The NCRG will continue to expand its public education offerings through new videos, publications and science-based resources, and explore new opportunities to learn about gambling disorder and treatment.

NCRG staffICRG Newsfundraisinggamblingresearchresponsible gamingsponsorships

The NCRG is pleased to announce that it will cosponsor with Sandia Resort and Casino in Albuquerque, NM, two days of treatment provider workers on March 23-24, 2017. The topics and speakers for “Evidence-based Topics on Gambling and Addiction” include:

Dr. Bruce Liese
  • Bruce Liese, PhD,Manualized CBT Group for Diverse Addictive Behaviors
  • Jon Grant, MD, JD, MPH,Gambling Disorder: Similarities and Differences with Substance Use Disorders
  • Nathan Smith,But Is It Working? How to Measure the Effectiveness of Responsible Gaming Programs and Policies
  • Lisa Najavits, PhD,Seeking Safety: A Strategy for Addressing Trauma andAddiction

Clinicians can earn up to 7.5 continuing education hours approved by NBCC and NAADAC. There is no cost for this program that will be held at the Sandia Resort and Casino.

Learning Objectives

Seeking Safety: A Strategy for Addressing Trauma and Addiction

  • Increase understanding of trauma and/or gambling disorder
  • Apply Seeking Safety with clients with gambling disorder
  • Obtain assessment and treatment resources

Manualized CBT Group for Diverse Addictive Behaviors

  • Conceptualize diverse addictive behaviors according to a cognitive-behavioral perspective
  • Describe structure and essential components of a CBTAG session
  • Design and implement a CBTAG in own organization serving a group with diverse addictive behaviors

Gambling Disorder: Similarities and Differences with Substance Abuse Disorders

  • Conceptualize ways in which gambling disorder shares characteristics of a substance use disorder
  • Conceptualize ways in which gambling disorder differs from substance abuse disorder
  • Explain the clinical significance of these similarities and differences

But Is It Working? How to Measure the Effectiveness of Responsible Gaming Programs and Policies

  • Describe the current research base for responsible gaming practices
  • Identify one responsible gaming program that has been shown to be safe and effective

NCRG staffContinuing Education OpportunitiesaddictionCEConferencecontinuing education creditsgambling

Connecting healthcare providers with the most up-to-date research is essential to quality care. TheNCRG Conference on Gambling and Addictionis one of the vehicles the NCRG uses to help counselors, psychologists, social workers, physicians, nurses and public health professionals learn about the latest research on gambling disorders. In fact, the NCRG conference offers the best educational experience for healthcare providers — as evidenced by the many approvals we have received for the continuing education hours offered by the conference. At this writing, the NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction, scheduled for Sept. 25-26, 2016, in Las Vegas, is approved to provide 13.5 continuing education hours by more health care organizations than any other gambling conference. First, we have the institutions that have granted approval of all NCRG educational programs:

  • The NCRG is approved by theAmerican Psychological Associationto sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The National Center for Responsible Gaming maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
  • The NCRG is approved to provide continuing education byNAADAC, The Association for Addiction Professionals(provider #100793).
  • The NCRG is anNBCC-Approved Continuing Education Provider(ACEP) and may offer NBCC-approved clock hours for events that meet NBCC requirements. The ACEP is solely responsible for all aspects of the program (#6474).

In addition, the NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction has received single program approval from the following:

We still have some outstanding applications at even more certifying agencies so please check atwww.ncrg.org/conferenceor email Christine Reilly ([email protected]) for updates or suggestions of other organizations.

We hope you can join us in Las Vegas on Sept. 25-26, 2016!

NCRG staffConference on Gambling and AddictionConference on Gambling and Addictioncontinuing educationgambling addictionhealthcareresearch

Peter Nathan, University of Iowa Foundation Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Public Health Emeritus, died on May 8, 2016, at the age of 81. The world knew Dr. Nathan as an internationally recognized scientist and researcher, focused on alcohol use disorder and other areas of addiction as well as a major figure at the University of Iowa where he served as provost and acting president. However, Dr. Nathan also made an outstanding contribution to the field of gambling disorder studies through his work with the NCRG’s scientific advisory board where he spearheaded efforts to raise the standards for conducting research on disordered gambling and recruited other distinguished scientists to the work of the NCRG. For more information and to post an online memory, visithttp://www.lensingfuneral.com/obituaries/obituary-listings?obId=898044#/obituaryInfo

Our condolences to Dr. Nathan’s wife Dr. Anne Helene Skinstad and family.

NCRG staffResearch UpdateScientific Advisory Board

The National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG) is pleased to announce the keynote speakers for the annualNCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction, scheduled for Sept. 25-26, 2016, in Las Vegas. The keynote addresses will be delivered by three of the leading innovators in the fields of addiction and gambling disorder:

Mark L. Willenbring, MD

Mark L. Willenbring, MDMoving Towards 21st Century Addiction Treatment

Dr. Willenbring, the founder and CEO ofAlltyr: Transforming Treatment for Addictions and the former director of treatment research at the National Institute for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, is pioneering new ways to conduct addiction treatment. His talk, will focus on overcoming barriers to making scientifically based professional treatment available to the public. Dr. Willenbring was recently profiled in theNew York Times.

Dr. Jon E. Grant,principal investigator of the NCRG Center of Excellence at The University of Chicago, will respond by talking about the implications of Dr. Willenbring’s ideas for the treatment of gambling disorder.

Stacey A. Tovino, JD, PhD

Stacey A. Tovino, JD, PhDReport Card on Affordable Care Act and Parity: Implications for Gambling Disorder

Dr. Tovino will present an update on her groundbreaking research demonstrating that challenges remain for securing insurance and disability coverage of gambling disorder. She is the Lehman Professor of Law at the William S. Boyd School Of Law andthe Director of the Health Law Program at theUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Judson Brewer, MD, PhD

Judson Brewer, MD, PhDMindfulness, Addiction and Gambling

A psychiatrist and internationally known expert in mindfulness training for addictions, Dr. Brewer has developed and tested novel mindfulness programs for addictions and studied the underlying neural mechanisms of mindfulness using brain imaging. His work was featured on an episode of60 Minutes.Dr. Brewer is director of research at the Center for Mindfulness and associate professor in the departments of Medicine and Psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Visitncrg.org/conferencefor more details about the 2016 NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction. Registration information will be announced soon – stay tuned!

NCRG staffConference on Gambling and AddictionNCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction

Did you miss the 2015 NCRG Conference on Gambling Addiction? No problem! The NCRG Webinar Series is presenting two of the top-ranked speakers in the next two sessions!

Many disordered gamblers started gambling at a young age and that’s why it’s important to address gambling by children and adolescents. On April 7, 2016, Duke University Professor Scott Huettel will present his innovative research in the webinar, “Rethinking Teenage Behavior: New Research on Adolescents’ Risky Choices.”Dr. Huettel’s investigation reveals that young people are actually more rational in their economic choices than assumed, although still in need of guidance in their decision-making processes. The webinar is scheduled for 2 – 3:30 p.m. EDT. Clickhereto register for this free webinar.

On May 5, 2016, Dr. Andrew Kayser, University of California, San Francisco, will present,“Waiting is the Hardest Part: Impulsivity, Addiction and the Brain.”He will discuss the latest research on cognitive control, dopamine and impulsivity – and the impact that the brain has on addictions and gambling disorder. The webinar is scheduled for 2 – 3:30 p.m. EDT. Clickhereto register for this free webinar.

Attendees who log-in for the entire program will receive continuing education certificates for 1.5 CE hours reflecting the following approvals:

  • The National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG) is approved by theAmerican Psychological Associationto sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The NCRG maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
  • The National Center for Responsible Gaming is approved to provide continuing education byNAADAC, The Association for Addiction Professionals(provider number 100793).
  • The NCRG is anNBCC-Approved Continuing Education Provider(ACEP) and may offer NBCC-approved clock hours for events that meet NBCC requirements. The ACEP is solely responsible for all aspects of the program. (#6474).
  • This program was approved by theIllinois Certification Board(Program Number 12997). Assigned categories: Counselor II, CARS II, MISA I OR II, PCGC I OR II, CCJP II, CRSS I OR II, MAATP II, NCRS II, CFPP II

Hope you can join us for these stimulating programs!

NCRG staffContinuing Education OpportunitiesDr. Andrew KayserDr. Scott HuettelNCRG Conference on Gambling and AddictionNCRG Webinar Serieswebinars

Grants Available for Research on Gambling Disorder 2016

This year the National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG) is celebrating20 yearsof funding high quality, peer-reviewed scientific research on gambling disorder. Since 1996 the NCRG has awarded more than$18 millionin support of investigations of gambling disorder and youth and college gambling through its competitive grants program. The NCRG is proud to continue this mission by offering Travel Grants, Seed Grants and Centers of Excellence in Gambling Research Grants in 2016.

Travel Grants are designed to support post-doctoral investigators presenting research on gambling disorder at major scientific meetings that do not normally feature gambling-related presentations. Applicants may request up to $1,500 for economy air travel, lodging, ground transportation, meals and early-bird registration fees. Applications for Travel Grants may be submitted any time.

Seed Grants support research activities such as pilot studies, secondary analysis of existing data and development of research methodology. Applicants may request up to $30,000 in direct costs for these one-year grants. The application deadline for 2016 is August 1.

The NCRG Centers of Excellence in Gambling Research Grants grants provide long-term institutional funding for broad, multidisciplinary investigations on gambling disorder. Applicants may request up to $350,000 in direct costs for a period not to exceed three years. Letters of intent to apply for a center grant are due June 1, 2016. Applicants invited to apply for a center grant will submit their proposals on October 3, 2016.

The NCRG welcomes applications from investigators in psychology, psychiatry, epidemiology, public health, sociology, economics, neuroeconomics, neuroscience and other relevant disciplines.

Detailed grant announcements and application forms are available for download atwww.ncrg.org/research-center. For questions about the NCRG Grants Program contact Christine Reilly, Senior Research Director, at[email protected]or Nathan Smith, Program Officer, at[email protected].

NCRG staffResearch UpdategrantsNCRG Centers of Excellenceseed grantsTravel Grants

Grants Available for Research on Gambling Disorder 2015

The fourth annualCollaborative Perspectives on Addictionwill be held March 18-19, 2016, in San Diego. This year’s theme is “Reducing Health Disparities through Addiction Science and Practice.”The deadline for poster proposals to be considered for travel awards is Dec. 4, 2015. If your topic is focused on disordered gambling, consider applying to the NCRG for aTravel Grant. NCRG will provide up to $1,500 in support of registration fees and travel expenses.

Collaborative Perspectives on Addiction is sponsored by theSociety of Addiction Psychology(Division 50 of the American Psychological Association), which promotes advances in research, professional training, and clinical practice within the broad range of addictive behaviors.

NCRG staffResearch UpdateAPAgambling disorderTravel Grants

The NCRG salutes the sponsors of the 2015 conference, held Sept. 27-29, 2015, in Las Vegas in conjunction with Global Gaming Expo. Our top Platinum Sponsors,Las Vegas Sands CorporationandMGM Resorts International, underwrote the two highlights of the conference: respectively, the Poster Session and Reception on Sunday evening and the NCRG Awards Luncheon on Monday.

Gold Sponsors includedBoyd Gaming Corporation,IGT,Potawatomi Hotel & CasinoandWynn Resorts, Ltd.Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc.was a Silver Sponsor, and Bronze Sponsors includedBet Buddy,BMM Testlabs,Gaming Laboratories International, andPenn National Gaming, Inc.Finally, we could not have managed the conference without the invaluable assistance of theAmerican Gaming Association,Reed ExhibitionsandGlobal Gaming Expo. The support of these corporations and organizations have made it possible for NCRG to continue to deliver a high quality educational experience at a cost accessible to all attendees.

NCRG staffConference on Gambling and AddictionNCRG Conference on Gambling and Addictionsponsors