Since the ICRG was created in 1996, it has been committed to funding research that will someday identify the risk factors for gambling disorders and determine methods for not only treating the disorder but preventing it, much like physicians can identify risk from cardiovascular disease long before a heart attack. In a field that is just emerging, continued research is critical to the advancement of scientific breakthroughs that will aid in developing tools for prevention and treatment.
As the ICRG looks to the future, it plans to:
- Continue to fund the highest-quality research on gambling disorders and related addictions, including its support of both the ICRG Centers of Excellence in Gambling Research and project-grant research at educational, medical and research institutions worldwide.
- Provide the casino industry and other gaming operators with practical, science-based tools to use in implementing responsible gaming programs within its companies and throughout the communities where the industry operates; and
- Increase public awareness of responsible gaming and serve as a resource and repository of responsible gaming educational materials for the media and the general public.