Gambling Disorders 360°

Apply Before Today's Deadline for the NCRG Conference Scholarship

by: NCRG Staff | Jul 15, 2014

Want to join the National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG) in Las Vegas for the 15th annual NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction from Sept. 28 to 30, 2014? Is your travel or conference budget a little tight this year? Each year, the NCRG awards scholarships to more than 15 individuals to attend the NCRG Conference. A portion of these scholarships may also include travel assistance. 

To apply for a scholarship, visit the Conference Scholarship website and submit your application by 5 p.m. PT today through our online form. This year’s lineup is packed with nationally renowned speakers and experts in the field of addiction, gambling disorder and responsible gaming that you won’t want to miss!

Read More »

NCRG-funded Investigator Awarded NIH Grant

by: NCRG Staff | Jul 14, 2014

Who will be the next generation of gambling researchers? The NCRG is not leaving this question to chance. Since 2004, the NCRG has funded grants specifically designed to offer new investigators the opportunity to focus on a research project under the mentorship of senior scientists. The NCRG is proud of the many accomplishments of these emerging scientists.

Recently, we were heartened to learn that the first recipient of an NCRG new investigator grant, Silvia Martins, M.D., Ph.D., has been awarded a $656,465 grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to continue her work on “Predictors of High-Risk Behaviors Among Youth.” Dr. Martins is now associate professor of epidemiology at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

Read More »

We want your feedback! Participate in the NCRG Partner Survey

by: NCRG Staff | Apr 9, 2014

We know that increasing awareness on gambling disorders and responsible gaming is important to you. At the NCRG, it is important to us too, and we want to develop a plan to enhance our efforts.

Read More »

NCRG’s College Gambling Awareness Campaign Brings the Issue to Center Court

by: NCRG Staff | Mar 18, 2014

As the NCAA basketball tournament hits its stride, fans around the nation are filling out brackets and possibly placing bets on the game. While gambling can be fun if you’re of legal age, it’s not a risk-free activity. For some college students, gambling for fun can turn into a serious problem and have a negative impact on their lives.

To help address this issue, the National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG) is proud to announce the launch of its College Gambling Awareness Campaign, bringing new resources to www.CollegeGambling.org. These new and invaluable resources, including the BetOnU College Gambling Survey, a shareable video and an information-packed toolkit, were developed to further help college health professionals and administrators educate students about gambling-related harms and responsible gaming.

Read More »

Get Involved! How to Use the NCRG’s New College Gambling Resources

by: NCRG Staff | Mar 18, 2014

Yesterday, the NCRG announced the launch of its College Gambling Awareness Campaign, which includes the addition of several new resources to www.CollegeGambling.org.

Read More »

Coming Up! NCRG Webinar on College Gambling Featuring Dr. Clayton Neighbors

by: NCRG Staff | Mar 10, 2014

Next week, the NCRG will hold its second free webinar of 2014. Titled “Preventing Disordered Gambling among College Students,” this March 19 webinar (2 – 3:30 p.m. ET) will feature Dr. Clayton Neighbors, professor and director of the social psychology program in the department of psychology at the University of Houston, who will discuss a new resource that was developed to help reduce problem gambling by showing students their misperceptions of student gambling behavior.

Approximately 75 percent of college students in the U.S. gambled in the past year and 6 percent develop a gambling problem. Despite these research findings, there was no screening/brief interventions tailored for this population—until now.

Read More »

Calling All College Health Professionals and Administrators: Get Involved in the NCRG’s College Gambling Awareness Campaign

by: NCRG Staff | Mar 6, 2014

In 2011, the National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG) introduced www.CollegeGambling.org, a website designed to help university administrators, campus health professionals, students and parents address these issues using the latest research on college gambling and free resources to incorporate into existing campus-wide education programs.

This month, the NCRG is adding some new features to CollegeGambling.org to raise awareness about gambling and gambling-related harms on college campuses. The NCRG will release several new resources to help college health professionals and college administrators educate students and faculty about this important issue so they can make responsible decisions about gambling. To learn how you can get involved, please join the NCRG for an informational Google Hangout session on Tuesday, March 11.

Read More »

NCRG on the Road: Dispatch from Collaborative Perspectives on Addiction Conference – Gambling Continues to be “Orphan” at NIH

by: NCRG Staff | Mar 3, 2014

This post was written by Christine Reilly, the NCRG’s senior research director, on Saturday, March 1, 2014.  

Greetings from Atlanta! I’m attending the second Collaborative Perspectives on Addiction Conference, a joint meeting of members of the American Psychological Associations’ Division 50 (Society of Addiction Psychology) and Division 28 (Psychopharmacology and Substance Abuse). This year’s theme is “Changing Addictive Behavior: Bench to Bedside and Back Again.”

Read More »

New Research Explores the Complex Relationships between Gambling Disorders and Other Mental Health Conditions

by: NCRG Staff | Feb 27, 2014

Many people may not know that 95 percent of people with gambling disorder also have another mental health disorder as well (Kessler et al., 2008). This stunning reality should influence every aspect of how researchers, clinicians and even the media approach the topic of understanding, diagnosing and treating gambling disorders. This co-occurrence of multiple disorders in an individual (called “comorbidity”) presents many unique challenges for the identification and treatment of gambling disorder. Research that can provide insights into comorbid conditions can be beneficial for clinicians and researchers alike.

One recent study on this topic came from Iman Parhami, M.D., M.P.H., a psychiatry resident at the Delaware Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, who conducted a survey to examine many health-related issues associated with gambling behaviors and other demographic data. Longtime readers may remember that Dr. Parhami won the outstanding poster award at the NCRG conference in 2011.

Read More »

Super Bowl + Gambling Responsibly = Keeping it Fun

by: NCRG Staff | Jan 31, 2014

As the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos take to the field on Sunday, millions of people from around the world will be tuning in to watch who wins Super Bowl XLVIII. Many people may even want to place a bet or two on the game’s outcome. We know that research shows that 1% of U.S. adults have been diagnosed with a gambling disorder, while 2-3% of the population has a gambling problem.

If you’re one of those who likes to wager on sports and can do so without problems,  you can establish your own limits and provide direction to others by developing a set of personal guidelines to determine whether, when and how much to gamble. Here are a few things to consider:

Read More »