Change and continuity in a help-seeking problem gambling population: A five-year record<xref ref-type="fn" rid="fn3">*</xref>

Authors

  • Alun C. Jackson The University of Melbourne and University of Melbourne/La Trobe University Gambling Research Program, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia E-mail: <email xlink:href="mailto:aluncj@unimelb.edu.au">aluncj@unimelb.edu.au</email>
  • Shane A. Thomas La Trobe University and University of Melbourne/La Trobe University Gambling Research Program, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  • Tangerine A. Holt Monash University, Victoria, Australia
  • Neil Thomason The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4309/jgi.2005.13.10

Keywords:

problem gambling, help-seeking, gambling-specific services

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of some trends among problem gamblers seeking help through the BreakEven/Gambler's Help problem gambling counselling services in Victoria, Australia, between July 1995 and June 2000. Data presented are drawn from details collected on clients at registration, assessment, and all other client contacts to form a Problem Gambling Services minimum data set (MDS). Analysis of the MDS shows a number of noteworthy trends towards continuity or change. A major element of continuity is the ability of the service to attract women, who constitute around 50% of the clients for the period. Major changes include the increasing trend towards presentation of clients at an earlier stage in their "career" as problem gamblers. Also identified is persistence or change in client characteristics, such as gender differences in gambling activity and problem type and level. In addition, a range of other factors are explored, such as level of debt and its associated characteristics, the characteristics of people committing crimes to finance their gambling, and the differences between people presenting for counselling and problem gamblers in the community.

Downloads

Published

2005-03-01

Issue

No. 13 (2005)

Section

Original Article

License

Journal Contributors Agreement

The parties intending to be legally bound (the principal author [Author] and the Journal of Gambling Issues [Publisher]), agree as follows:

1. The Author grants exclusively to the Publisher all world-wide rights in this Contribution; including the full copyright therein, the right to publish it as part of the JGI in all forms, languages and media now or hereafter known or developed and including, but not limited to, the right to license subsidiary rights such as granting rights to reprint in anthologies issued by other publishers or to photocopy for classroom use.

2. The Author guarantees that he or she is the sole owner of the Contribution and has full authority to make this agreement; and that the Contribution does not contain any copyright; does not violate any other property rights; does not contain any scandalous, libelous or unlawful matter; does not make any improper invasion of the privacy of    another person; and has not been published before, and is not now being considered for publication elsewhere.

If the Contribution has been published previously, the Author guarantees that permission has been obtained, and any fee required has been paid, for publication in the JGI and shall submit proof of such permission and any required credit line to the Publisher with the signed agreement. The Author agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Publisher against any claim or proceeding undertaken on any of the aforementioned grounds.

3. The Author shall allow the Editor of the JGI and the Publisher to make the Contribution conform to the style of presentation, spelling, capitalization, punctuation and   usage followed by the JGI. The Author agrees to review and correct the copyedited manuscript and proofs and to return them to the editor by the date set by the Editor. If the Editor has not received them by that time, the Author agrees that production of the JGI in which the Contribution is to be included may proceed without waiting for the Author's approval of the manuscript or the proofs.

4. If the Author wishes to publish this Contribution elsewhere, the Publisher shall grant to the Author, for no fee, a nonexclusive License to republish the Contribution in the same form in any language in a book or other media written or edited by the Author after the issue of the JGI containing the Contribution has been published, subject only to the conditions that a credit line, to be supplied by the Publisher, will be printed in the Author's book: to indicate the first publication of the Contribution in the JGI. The Author shall inform the Publisher 30 days before the Contribution is released in any other form.

5. This agreement shall be construed and interpreted through the laws of the province of Ontario, Canada. This agreement shall be binding upon and operate to the benefit of the parties thereto, their heirs, successors, assigns, and personal representatives. Where the Contribution is the product of more than one person, all of the obligations of the Author hereby created shall be deemed to be the joint and several obligations of all such persons as testified by their signatures.

6. The Author shall receive no payment from the Publisher for use of the Contribution.

7. The Author agrees to reference this article using its full and accurate name: Journal of Gambling Issues.