UNews - Alberta Gambling Research Institute

AGRI researchers find gambling and problem gambling on the decline, yet troubling numbers still exist

trevor.kenney — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 19:18:02 +0000

Despite more gambling options being available to Canadians, the prevalence of gambling and problem gambling is on the decline throughout the country according to recent Statistics Canada data from the 2018 Canadian Community Health Survey. A recent study out of the Alberta Gambling Research Institute (AGRI) indicates that while these numbers are positive overall, troubling trends still exist.

Dr. Robert Williams says gambling is still quite prevalent, with about 66.2 per cent of the adult population engaging in one or more types of gambling in 2018.

In their study, Gambling and Problem Gambling in Canada in 2018: Prevalence and Changes Since 2002, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Dr. Robert Williams and colleagues, including fellow U of L researchers Rhys Stevens and Drs. Yale Belanger, Carrie Leonard and Darren Christensen, observed a 45 per cent decrease in the overall presence of problem gambling from 2002 through 2018.

“We looked to provide an updated profile of gambling and problem gambling in Canada in 2018 and examine how this profile compares to 2002, the last time gambling and problem gambling had been comprehensively assessed on a national basis,” says Williams. “The relative popularity of the different types of gambling in Canada in 2018 is very similar to 2002 with the main difference being decreased gambling participation in 2018.”

Williams says this is particularly true for electronic gambling machines (EGMs), which saw a 46 per cent participation decrease, and bingo, a 53 per cent decline. In fact, almost all types of gambling except casino table games saw a significant decrease in participation. He speculates the increased popularity of poker drove the enhanced table game numbers. And while online gambling numbers increased, it is still uncommon relative to in-person participation.

“The overall decrease in gambling participation is something that has occurred in most western countries since the early 2000s,” adds Williams. “The overriding thought as to why that’s occurring is due to the novelty having worn off and more people becoming aware of the potential harms of gambling.”

Gambling is still quite prevalent, with about 66.2 per cent of the adult population engaging in one or more types of gambling in 2018. However, the majority of that participation is through the purchase of lottery and raffle tickets.

The intensity of gambling involvement among gamblers is also low, with the large majority only gambling occasionally and engaging in just one or two different types. This pattern is also very similar across provinces.

“One anomaly we did discover is some significant interprovincial variation, with perhaps the most important one being a higher rate of EGM participation in both Manitoba and Saskatchewan,” says Williams.

Overall, Williams says the current level of problem gambling in Canada, despite the expansion of legal gambling opportunities, is among the lowest that has been reported worldwide. There are some troubling numbers though, as commercial gambling revenue per adult has not changed significantly from 2002 to 2018, indicating that revenue per gambler has increased.

“We know that gambling revenue is disproportionately derived from problem gamblers, so these numbers could indicate the expenditure per problem gambler has increased over the years,” he says. “Thus, the lifetime prevalence of problem gambling continues to increase steadily, and, as these gamblers age, marry and have children, there is a much higher prevalence of people who have been harmed by gambling.”

Drs. David Hodgins (��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary), Daniel McGrath (��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary), Fiona Nicoll (��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta) and Nady el-Guebaly (MD, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary) also participated in the study.

This study is part of the AGRI National Project, which is a comprehensive investigation of gambling and problem gambling in Canada, jointly funded by AGRI, the Canadian Consortium for Gambling Research, the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, and Gambling Research Exchange Ontario. The main results of this national investigation will be profiled at AGRI’s upcoming virtual conference (Apr. 27-29, 2021).

Monkeys can barter but can they gamble, asks new study from ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researcher

trevor.kenney — Tue, 09 Apr 2019 16:33:17 +0000

You’re not likely to see them flooding casinos any time soon, but the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Dr. Jean-Baptiste Leca and his colleagues are embarking on a study that may turn a population of Balinese long-tailed macaque monkeys into gamblers.

Dr. J.B. Leca, pictured, is teaming up with Dr. Rob Williams, a gambling research expert in the Faculty of Health Sciences, and Dr. Elsa Addessi, a cognitive psychologist and primatologist at the National Research Center in Rome, Italy.

Leca, an associate professor in the U of L’s Department of Psychology, is teaming up with Dr. Rob Williams, a gambling research expert in the Faculty of Health Sciences, and Dr. Elsa Addessi, a cognitive psychologist and primatologist at the National Research Center in Rome, Italy, to explore whether monkeys have cognitive biases and behavioural responses that are different from, or similar to, that of humans when it comes to gambling activities.

“This is a follow-up on our object/food-bartering monkeys project, except that this time we are planning to implement some field experiments to test these monkeys’ abilities to engage in a series of gambling tasks,” says Leca, whose group is supported by a research grant from the Alberta Gambling Research Institute.

In the previous study, Leca made international headlines as he studied open-field macaque monkeys stealing objects from Balinese tourists and using the items as bartering objects for their real desire – food.

“This time around, unlike the bartering process, the gambling scenario will entail some level of uncertainty in the reward they receive,” says Leca, who will travel to Bali in July to begin the work. “Sometimes they won’t get any food reward, or a much smaller amount of food than they expect or are used to. Even after proffering their token to the experimenter, they lose. Other times, they will get more food than they expect, like a big win scenario at the casino.”

A typical object/food bartering interaction between a Balinese macaque (left, holding stolen eyeglasses) and a human (right, proffering a bag of local fruit as a food reward).

The researchers – in collaboration with Dr. Noëlle Gunst (an adjunct faculty and research associate in the U of L’s Department of Psychology), Dr. I Nengah Wandia (a Balinese veterinarian and primatologist from Udayana ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ), and students Matthew Gardiner, Caleb Bunselmeyer and Christian Dunn – will examine how the monkeys respond when uncertainty is introduced to the already established bartering system; whether they are susceptible, just like some human problem gamblers, to making less than optimal choices; if they tend to undervalue, or discount, larger rewards delivered after a delay and impulsively favour smaller but immediate rewards; and whether they are prone to choosing low-probability/high-payoff rewards over high-probability/low-payoff rewards, even when this strategy works against them in the long run.

Similar studies have been conducted in lab settings but lack an ecological validity because they use captive, lab-trained and socially isolated primates.

“To our knowledge, our study will be the first time minimally invasive experimental gambling research will be conducted on free-ranging nonhuman animals,” says Leca. “What’s more, our monkey subjects have an already established, spontaneously expressed, and culturally transmitted bartering propensity.”

If the group is successful in turning their bartering monkeys into gamblers, and the results are similar to lab research findings, the study will provide further support and validation to existing animal models of gambling and give greater insight to the evolution of irrational human economic behaviours – such as gambling.

Use of innovative couples therapy to be expanded thanks to research grant and partnership with Alberta Health Services

caroline.zentner — Thu, 09 Apr 2015 16:23:15 +0000

A major two-year grant worth $153,000 from the Alberta Gambling Research Institute will allow ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Health Sciences professors, Drs. Bonnie Lee and Darren Christensen, and their team to gauge the effect of a specialized couples counselling model.

Developed by Lee, Congruence Couple Therapy (CCT) has already undergone a pilot randomized trial and proven its efficacy when used with couples where one member has a gambling disorder. Now Lee is excited to evaluate the use of the therapy in partnership with Alberta Health Services (AHS).

“We are intrigued to compare the treatment outcomes using the model for gambling and for alcohol use disorder, which is at least six times more prevalent than gambling disorder,” says Lee.

Dr. Bonnie Lee

Five researchers from the U of L and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta are involved in a research study that will be conducted at four AHS service sites over a two-year period. Researchers are now visiting each community, including Edmonton, Red Deer and Grande Prairie, to familiarize themselves with current operations.

“We’re paying site visits to understand the needs and variations of existing programs because we will be comparing outcomes using the CCT model to the usual treatment,” she says.

Counsellors with AHS will receive training in CCT and couples who volunteer for the study will be randomly assigned to receive either CCT or existing programs. After 12 weeks, treatment outcomes will be assessed by counsellors and the couples involved.

CCT addresses the roots of addiction and the impact of traumatic childhood family experiences that maintain it.

“Addiction is essentially a relationship disorder with breakdown of trust and communication beginning early in life. Those patterns are displayed in how a couple interacts. Healing partners in intimate relationships is a springboard to recovery,” says Lee.

In Lee’s pilot randomized trial, couples said the therapy was life-changing and gave them compassion for each other. They reported CCT helped them understand what lies behind the addiction to avoid blame, better listen and respond to each other, and revive their spirit and sense of worth. The results are less mental distress, improved relationships, often with their children as well, and decreased need for gambling.

“This innovation I’m bringing into the field is a systemic model that allows you to look at the whole package of what feeds into the addiction,” says Lee. “I’m passionate about bringing this conjoint couple therapy format into the field. It could well develop into a way of working with parents and adolescents.”

The research study also gives university researchers the chance to step into the field to interact with AHS service providers and clients themselves. Lee says funding agencies are increasingly seeing the value of collaborations and partnerships that allow researchers and stakeholders to work together. The Canadian Depression Research Network has added another $10,000 to the study to look at the effects of the intervention on depression, which commonly occurs with addiction.

“We hope through this kind of partnership with Alberta Health Services we can speed up the process of adapting scientific knowledge to the health-care system to make it more usable,” says Lee.

Graduate students honoured with research awards

trevor.kenney — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:34:27 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge celebrated the achievements of 21 graduate students last night at the 2012 Graduate Student Research Awards reception.

"These graduate students are exemplars of academic achievement," says Dr. Robert Wood, dean of the School of Graduate Studies. "The exciting academic work that they do is advancing the frontiers of knowledge and creativity, and it cultivates and builds an essential foundation for our growing reputation as a comprehensive university. Indeed, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community is immensely proud of these accomplished graduate student scholars."

Following is a list of the 2012 award winners.

Alberta Innovates Health Solutions
Erin Zelinski
(Robert Sutherland)
Neuroscience

Corinne Sidler
(Olga Kovalchuk)
Biological Sciences

Alberta Innovates - Technology Futures
Aaron Mullin
(Craig Coburn)
Geography

Alberta Cancer Foundation
Lidiya Luzhna
(Olga Kovalchuk)
Biological Sciences

Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship Doctoral (NSERC)
Patrick Barks
(Robert Laird)
Biological Sciences

Andrew Hudson
(Camron Goater & Tony Russell)
Biological Sciences

Jenni Karl
(Ian Whishaw)
Neuroscience

Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship Master (NSERC)
Kathryn Kuchapski
(Joseph Rasmussen)
Biological Sciences

Kirsten Rosler
(Hans-Joachim Wieden)
Chemistry and Biochemistry

Aaron Mullin
(Craig Coburn)
Geography

Natalie Freeman
(Louise Barrett & Peter Henzi)
Psychology

Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship Master's (SSHRC)
Gillian Ayers
(Claudia Malacrida)
Sociology

Leslie Bush
(Robbin Derry)
Management

Stacey Leavitt
(Michelle Helstein & Sean Brayton)
Kinesiology & Physical Education

Daniel Rutledge
(Sameer Deshpande)
Management

Rachel Shields
(Jason Laurendeau)
Sociology

Mark Bruce
(Dawn McBride)
Education

School of Graduate Studies Fellowship
Darcy Best
(Hadi Kharaghani)
Mathmatics & Computer Science

Health Quality Council of Alberta
Shannon Vandenberg
(Judith Kulig)
Health Sciences

endMS
Brietta Gerrard
(Artur Luczak)
Neuroscience

Alberta Gambling Research Institute
Scott Oberg
(Matthew Tata)
Neuroscience

UNews - Alberta Gambling Research Institute

AGRI researchers find gambling and problem gambling on the decline, yet troubling numbers still exist

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Monkeys can barter but can they gamble, asks new study from ��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researcher

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Use of innovative couples therapy to be expanded thanks to research grant and partnership with Alberta Health Services

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Graduate students honoured with research awards

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Monkeys can barter but can they gamble, asks new study from ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researcher