Gambling and Problem Gambling in the United States: Changes Between 1999 and 2013

Telephone surveys of US adults were conducted in 1999–2000 and again in 2011–2013. The same questions and methods were used so as to make the surveys comparable. There was a reduction in percentage of past-year gambling and in frequency of gambling. Rates of problem gambling remained stable. Lottery...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of gambling studies 2015-09, Vol.31 (3), p.695-715
Main Authors: Welte, John W., Barnes, Grace M., Tidwell, Marie-Cecile O., Hoffman, Joseph H., Wieczorek, William F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Addictive behaviors
Adult
Behavior, Addictive - epidemiology
Behavior, Addictive - psychology
Community and Environmental Psychology
Comorbidity
Economics
Female
Gambling
Gambling - epidemiology
Gambling - psychology
Gaming machines
Humans
Legalized gambling
Life Style
Male
Mass Screening - statistics & numerical data
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Original Paper
Psychiatry
Risk-Taking
Social research
Socioeconomic Factors
Sociology
Studies
Surveys and Questionnaires
Trends
United States - epidemiology
Young Adult
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Summary:Telephone surveys of US adults were conducted in 1999–2000 and again in 2011–2013. The same questions and methods were used so as to make the surveys comparable. There was a reduction in percentage of past-year gambling and in frequency of gambling. Rates of problem gambling remained stable. Lottery was included among the specific types of gambling for which past year participation and frequency of play declined. Internet gambling was the only form of gambling for which the past-year participation rate increased. The average win/loss increased for several forms of gambling, providing a modest indication that gamblers were betting more, albeit less frequently. Between the two surveys, the rates of past-year participation in gambling declined markedly for young adults. In both surveys, rates of problem gambling were higher for males than females, and this difference increased markedly between surveys as problem gambling rates increased for males and decreased for females. For the combined surveys, rates of problem gambling were highest for blacks and Hispanics and lowest for whites and Asians. In both surveys, the rates of problem gambling declined as socio-economic status became higher. Possible explanations for these trends are discussed.
ISSN:1050-5350
1573-3602
DOI:10.1007/s10899-014-9471-4