Spotting Gambling Addiction in Casinos
Posted on 23. Aug, 2011 by Problem Gambling in Assessing Your Gambling
Employees at bars and casinos are trained to look for patrons who have a problem. Bartenders can watch for signs that a customer has had too much alcohol, even if reviewing the tab doesn’t provide enough information. Casino employees can watch the habits of regular customers, looking for indicators that there may be a gambling problem.
A recent study examined whether gambling venue staff are effective at identifying indicators that show that a patron may be having problems with gambling (Delfabbro, Borgas & King, 2011). Though the employees are trained in recognizing potential problems, accurately judging them in a real-time environment may be difficult.
Signs of Gambling Addiction
Signs of a potential problem with gambling may include:
- Gambling for long periods of time
- Using ATMs
- Placing high-risk bets
- Avoiding social contact
Some employees may notice these behaviors in regular customers, but depending on the atmosphere of the venue and the demands placed on the employees, it may be impossible to recognize a gambling problem.
About the Gambling Research
The study involved interviewing patrons and staff recruited from seven gambling venues in South Australia. The interviews were conducted at various times of the day and on various days of the week. There were 303 patrons who agreed to participate, and they were asked to complete the past-year Problem Gambling Severity Index.
The staff was asked to evaluate the patrons’ gambling status and rate them on a four-point scale. A rating of 1 on the scale indicated "No problems"; a rating of 2 indicated "Might have problems"; a rating of 3 indicated "Suspect patron is a problem gambler"; and a rating of 4 indicated that the employee was "Confident patron has severe gambling-related problems. The staff was only interviewed regarding patrons that they recognized.
The results of the evaluation showed that 40 percent were not at risk for problem gambling, 29 percent were considered low-risk, 22 percent were moderate risk and 9 percent were categorized as problem gamblers.
Staff Struggles to Recognize Problem Gambling
The staff recognized 76 percent of the patrons who participated. However, their ability to identify problem gambling was poor, with staff members inaccurate on the ratings for perceived problems among patrons.
The results of the study are limited by the use of self-report in the assessment of gambling problems among patrons and the use of only one screening tool in the assessment. The researchers also did not use a variety of gambling situations to recruit participants, approaching patrons only at machines in small or medium-sized venues.
The study’s findings indicate that staff assessments are not a reliable way to measure problem gambling among patrons.
