Training gamblers to re-think their gambling choices: How contextual analytical thinking may be useful in promoting safer gambling

Background and aimsHarmful gambling has been associated with the endorsement of fallacious cognitions that promote excessive consumption. These types of beliefs stem from intuitively derived assumptions about gambling that are fostered by fast-thinking and a lack of objective, critical thought. The current paper details an experiment designed to test whether a four-week online intervention to strengthen contextual analytical thinking in gamblers is effective in changing gamblers cognitions and encouraging safer gambling consumption.MethodsNinety-four regular gamblers who reported experiencing gambling-related harm were randomly allocated to either an experimental (n = 46) or control condition (n = 48), including 45 males, ranging from 19 to 65 years of age (M = 36.61; SD = 9.76). Following baseline measurement of gambling beliefs and prior week gambling consumption, participants in the experimental condition were required to complete an adaption of the Gamblers Fallacy Questionnaire designed to promote analytical thinking by educating participants on common judgement errors specific to gambling once a week for four weeks. Post-intervention measures of beliefs and gambling consumption were captured in week five.ResultsThe experimental condition reported significantly fewer erroneous cognitions, greater endorsement of protective cognitions, and reduced time spent gambling post-intervention compared to baseline. The control group also reported a reduction in cognitions relating to predicting and controlling gambling outcomes.ConclusionCognitive interventions that encourage gamblers to challenge gambling beliefs by reflecting on gambling involvement and promoting critical thinking may be an effective tool for reducing the time people invest in gambling activities.

Gambling Consumers in Thailand

This paper presents a study of household gambling consumption in Thailand in 2011. We investigate the nonlinear relationships between this behavior and household alcohol expenditure, household gambling expenditure, and demographic factors. We use Treenet to analyze datasets drawn from a socio-economic survey of 42,083 Thai households conducted in 2011. The results show that the five most significant variables in order of importance for predicting the likelihood of household gambling consumption are household income, household region, work status of the household head, religion of the household head, and age of the household head. In summary, the Treenet results suggest that the likelihood of gambling consumption was higher for households with an income of more than 25,000 Bahts per year, a location in the North, a Buddhist head of household, a head with active work status, a head between 35 and 55 years old, with household expenditure spent on alcohol consumed at home of more than 500 Bahts, with household expenditure spent on tobacco of more than 100 Bahts, and a head of household with less education.

Minimising the impact of gambling in the subtle degradation of democratic systems 1

Gambling can harm a society's social and economic systems and negatively affect its political ecology. If not protected, democratic processes and institutions in jurisdictions with high levels of gambling are likely to undergo a progressive, cumulative degradation of function. These subtle, diffuse distortions result when a broad variety of individuals, working in isolation and reacting to pressures from gambling providers, incrementally compromise their roles and responsibilities. This article examines how these degradations can occur for people working in universities, government departments, media outlets, politics, and community organisations. It argues that any strategy to minimise harm from gambling should include explicit measures to protect the public from such distortions to democratic processes. The single most effective way to do this is to independently monitor people with public duties who have relationships to the beneficiaries of gambling consumption. The article concludes by proposing an international charter that sets benchmark standards for protecting a society from such degradations.