Abstract
In several jurisdictions around the world, venue staff are encouraged to make reasonable attempts to determine whether patrons may be experiencing problems associated with their gambling. Although a number of visible indicators and behaviours are recognised as being indicative of gambling problems, no research has investigated how effective staff might be in identifying problem gamblers in venues. The aim of this field test was to examine the level of patron familiarity amongst staff working in small to moderate-sized venues. Patrons (n = 303) were asked to complete a short survey including the Problem Gambling Severity Index and venue staff were asked to describe their knowledge of the same patrons independently. The results showed that patrons rated as more at risk by staff scored significantly higher on the PGSI, but that point-in-time staff ratings were not sufficiently accurate to allow effective identification of problem gamblers. The importance of using accumulated information over multiple sessions as well as technological monitoring of behaviour was emphasised by these results.
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Notes
As pointed out by an anonymous reviewer, one must be cautious when validating indicators against the results of gambling screens because the content of indicator lists and screens overlap to some degree. It should be pointed out, however, that indicator lists are very extensive and encompass a range of items that is wider than the content of most screens. Problem gamblers in the Schellinck and Schrans (2004) and Delfabbro et al. (2007) studies scored higher on almost all of the indicators, and many of these did not overlap with the screen that was used (the PGSI).
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Acknowledgments
This project was made possible by the support of GamingCare SA. The authors in particular are grateful for the co-operation and support of venues who assisted in this project as well as Rhonda Turley and Megan Webb.
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Delfabbro, P., Borgas, M. & King, D. Venue Staff Knowledge of Their Patrons’ Gambling and Problem Gambling. J Gambl Stud 28, 155–169 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-011-9252-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-011-9252-2