Saturday, February 03, 2007

Today, the Office of Problem Gambling (OPG) today unveiled the most
comprehensive prevalence study of problem gambling ever conducted in the
nation. The survey found that between 750,000 and 1.2 million California
adults are considered pathological or problem gamblers. "The legislation
that created the Office of Problem Gambling focused resources on prevention
and research," said Steve Hedrick, director of OPG. "Now with this
prevalence study we'll be able to develop more effective prevention
strategies and better understand how to help people with gambling problems."
Key findings include: The prevalence of problem and pathological gambling is
particularly high among men, people with disabilities and unemployed
individuals. Between 296,500 and 490,000 adults in California are classified
as lifetime pathological gamblers. Between 450,000 and 713,400 others
experience significant problems but do not meet the established criteria for
pathological gamblers. The majority of adults in California (83%) have
gambled some time in their lives. Playing the lottery is the gambling
activity for Californians in the past year. Casinos are the preferred place
to gamble. Card rooms and internet gaming account for the greatest personal
losses. The multi-lingual telephone survey was conducted between 2005 and
2006 and included California residents aged 18 and over. Over the past three
years, OPG completed implemented a number of prevention programs including:
Public awareness campaigns Two gambling help lines Community and government
organization training on recognizing problem gambling and available
resources About Problem Gambling: Gambling problems vary in severity and
duration. Pathological gambling is the most severe gambling problem.
Pathological gambling is a treatable mental disorder characterized by loss
of control over gambling, lies and deception, family and job disruption,
financial bailouts and illegal acts.