Gambling and Gaming Addiction: Beyond the One-Armed Bandit

There is no mistake about why so many of us refer to Las Vegas as “Lost Wages”. While initially romanticized as the playpen of the Brat Pack and a place for wealthy celebrities to throw their money down at a chance to win big, the contemporary reality of the soulless city has been reflected in films such as “Leaving Las Vegas” and “21”. There are few, if any boundaries in Vegas, Atlantic City, Hong Kong, and other gambling meccas — you can win or lose as much as you can stomach. It doesn’t matter to casino owners whether you are a professional poker player or an addict who’s embezzled corporate funds to do the deed.

This is an introductory course on gaming and gambling addiction. It consists of a short introductory video, an audiotaped interview (transcript available), 8 articles and a PowerPoint presentation. The first six documents define, describe and review the etiology, subtypes, stages, diagnostic criteria and theories associated with gambling and gaming addiction. The ways in which pathological gambling resemble other addictions are noted, and the gambler’s dry drunk syndrome is described. The articles which follow suggest ways in which public health interventions can be made to limit the potential for addiction, methods for the assessment and treatment of pathological gambling, and options for management of the gambling addict’s financial issues. Additional resources and references are provided for further study, but they are not part of the course.

Disclaimer: This course is purely educational and does not intend to serve as a license (or permission) to mental health professionals to prescribe or practice any of the approaches discussed in this course unless they fall within the scope of practice of your profession. Check with your licensing board about the scope of practice of your profession to make sure you practice within that scope.It also does not serve as a permission to title yourself in any specific way.