CT: Spectrum Gaming Report #9

The National Opinion Research Center (NORC) in its report to the NGISC
noted:

• 
  The availability of a casino within 50 miles (versus 50 to 250 miles)
  is associated with about double the prevalence of problem and pathological
  gamblers.

The relationship between the proliferation of gambling and increased bankruptcies was studied by Stuart A. Feldman, President of SMR Research Corporation. In a 1999 presentation before the House Subcommittee on Commercial an Administrative Law regarding the increasing number of bankruptcies in America, Feldman noted that among other factors:

• 
  The spread of casino gambling appears to be a problem. When we look at bankruptcy rates in counties that have major gambling facilities in them, those rates are higher than in counties that have no gambling facilities. … On the county map in Nevada, the closer you come to Las Vegas and Reno, the higher the bankruptcy rate generally gets. In California, the highest bankruptcy rates are in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, which are closest to Las Vegas, and the fourth highest rate often is in Sacramento County, closest to Reno. In New Jersey, Atlantic County, which is where the casinos are, typically has either the highest bankruptcy rate or one of the two or three highest in the state. In Tennessee, the bankruptcy rate is highest in Shelby County, the heart of Memphis, which is right across the state line from the Tunica MS casino gambling complex, reportedly the largest outside of Nevada.

– page 64 Spectrum Gaming
Group (SGG) “Gambling in Connecticut” 2009


Other Addictive
Behaviors: Alcohol, Tobacco, Drugs
According to the National Research Council, problem gamblers are more likely than non-problem players to report problematic levels of consumption of drugs, alcohol and cigarettes.

A recent national study of lifetime gambling prevalence and comorbidity found that
73.2 percent of pathological gamblers had an alcohol-use disorder, 38.1 percent
had a drug use disorder, and 60.4 percent had nicotine dependence.
– page 69
Spectrum Gaming Group (SGG) “Gambling in Connecticut” 2009


Impact on Relationships
In a study of family and problem gambling, Lorenz and Yaffee surveyed 206 married Gamblers Anonymous (GA) respondents about their medical and mental health and the health of their marital relationship during the desperation phase of their illness, when gambling was at its worse. This is when gamblers often alienate their friends and families.

During the desperation phase, 49 percent of the GA members indicated that their sexual relationship with their spouse was unsatisfactory, while 19 percent reported
that their dissatisfaction continued even after they had abstained from gambling. Lorenz and Shuttlesworth found that 50 percent of the respondents indicated that their spouses lost interest in sex during periods of heavy gambling.

They further reported that 48 percent of their 206 married GA respondents stated they had seriously considered having an extramarital affair during their desperation phase; 23 percent reported having done so. Fifty-nine percent indicated they thought about separating from their spouses, and one third of the respondents eventually did separate.
– page 71 Spectrum Gaming
Group (SGG) “Gambling in Connecticut” 2009


Much of the scientific literature on the effects of problem gambling on the family focus on domestic violence, but this is just a small proportion of the harm being done to families. As summarized by one of the clinicians in our round-table session:

What people don‘t understand is the degree of preoccupation in the family. Normal activities around the house stop happening. People aren‘t eating together. People aren‘t talking to each other. People aren‘t nurturing each other, children not doing homework. These are chronic, high stress effects – diminished social family functioning that destroys the kids. As for the kids, they then start doing their own things to cope; they drink and do drugs.

In our telephone survey, we found:
51.8 percent of problem gamblers versus 23.3 percent of non-problem gamblers admitted to having a period of two weeks or longer in their lifetime when they lost interest in most things that they usually enjoyed
15.1 percent of problem gamblers versus only 0.2 percent non-problem gamblers admitted that gambling made them careless of their own welfare and that of their families

This lack of interest and family neglect can happen for a range of reasons. A member of Gamblers Anonymous told us in an interview: ―Gambling becomes everything to you.
– page 72 Spectrum
Gaming Group (SGG) “Gambling in Connecticut” 2009


Because of the emotional strain, it is likely that a child of a pathological gambler will end up doing poorly in school, manifesting behavioral problems in the classroom or
failing to graduate. A supervisor at the Norwich Department of Social Services,
speaking as a representative of the department, told us about a number of
children misbehaving as a result of a parent‘s gambling problem.
– page 75
Spectrum Gaming Group (SGG) “Gambling in Connecticut” 2009


In our telephone survey, we asked respondents about the effect, if any, gambling had on their lives. The first figure is for gamblers; the second for non-gamblers.

• difficulty sleeping (16.5 percent vs. 1.3 percent)
  irritability (18.8 percent vs. 7.8 percent)
  decrease in ambition (15.1 percent vs. 0.2 percent)
  loss of interest (51.8 percent vs. 23.3 percent)
  lost time from work(11.6 percent vs. 0.1 percent)
  affected reputation (5.9 percent vs. 0.3percent)
  

Prevalence studies are designed to measure the extent of
problem gambling in a general population. Categories include both problem and
pathological gambling. Although problem gamblers in our prevalence study are
significantly more likely to lose time from work, this is not the only cost to
the employer. It is assumed that an employee who is not absent is being
productive. However, even when employees are physically present at their jobs,
their work product may often be lacking in quality. It is a phenomenon referred
to as lost (work) productive time, and is characterized by:

• Time not on task
  Decreased quality of work
  Decreased quantity of work
  Unsatisfactory employee interpersonal factors

These costs escalate the longer that
employees are unable to cope with the difficulties that may arise in their
personal lives. The compounding of problems is increased by the symptoms of the
addiction itself: difficulty sleeping, a loss of interest in anything but
gambling and a decrease in ambition.
– page 76 Spectrum Gaming Group (SGG)
“Gambling in Connecticut” 2009



As of July 1, 2007, Connecticut‘s
population of residents 18 or older was 2,666,750. Between 60 and 63 percent of
problem and probable pathological gamblers are employed full-time based on our
prevalence study. We estimate that approximately 23,000 to 57,000 employees are
currently costing their employees money through below normal-work quality as a
direct result of problem gambling.
– page 77 Spectrum Gaming Group (SGG)
“Gambling in Connecticut” 2009



Medical Utilization
According to one research study (Morasco, et al. 1996), gambling severity has been found to be associated with higher rates of medical utilization, with pathological
gamblers more likely to have been treated in the emergency room in the past year
than low-risk individuals, even after controlling for demographic
characteristics, body-mass index, alcohol abuse and nicotine dependence.

The William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich is the hospital closest to the
two Connecticut casinos. Although its charity-care costs are relatively low as a
result of casino-provided health coverage for employees, the hospital has
experienced significant costs related to treatment of gamblers. Casino patrons
have suffered heart attacks, for example, at gaming properties. In some cases,
the patrons were either underinsured or not insured at all, causing the hospital
to sustain a significant loss of as much as $1 million.
– page 77 Spectrum
Gaming Group (SGG) “Gambling in Connecticut” 2009

The Spectrum Gaming Report prepared for the CT DOSR is availble on the United to Stop Slots in Massachusetts web site. It's worth reading.