Gambling Addiction

Doctor focuses on gambling addiction


Dr. Timothy Fong, co-director of the UCLA gambling studies program, says through his research that gambling is a serious public health issue that has placed an economic burden on the state.

In 2003, when Fong joined the UCLA faculty, the Office of Problem Gambling was first created within the state’s alcohol and drug program, and UCLA decided to initiate its program.

“Over the last seven years, we’ve really been working closely together both as partners from our academic side as well as from the state side and having cooperation from the gaming industry,” Fong said. “It’s really first to better understand what is the actual significance or public health impact of gambling addiction in California.”

Fong said California generates more money from gambling revenue than Nevada.

“Here in California, we have well over 150 different casinos, the state lottery, horse racing industry, card clubs and travel casinos, so at the end of the day, that generates roughly around $9 [billion] or $10 billion a year of gambling revenue just from our state alone.”

Fong also pointed out that the economy has taken a significant toll on gambling revenues: a 20 to 30 percent decline by the estimates that he has seen. Internet gambling, which is illegal in California and across the nation, is also an increasing problem that Fong has come across due to its 24-hour access and the ability to play multiple hands at once.

“I’d say about 30 to 40 percent of patients that come into our treatment program are primarily Internet gamblers,” Fong said. “I’ve had several patients that never actually stepped foot inside a casino, so it’s a tremendous area of growth not only economically, but unfortunately also from an addiction standpoint.”

UCLA’s program is researching what is different about the brains, lifestyles and psychology of people with gambling addictions to better understand how the disease starts and why its starts. The program is also trying to develop a treatment program that actually works and is testing the treatment to find some evidence-based way that helps people recover from their gaming problems, which is often a hidden addiction.

“People don’t ‘overdose’ gambling and end up dead, people don’t take guns and shoot themselves and shoot other people,” Fong said. “But when they do, it’s not listed as a problem that gambling had caused. It’s listed as gunshot wound to the head.”