Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Problem Gambling Associated with Violent and Criminal Behaviour: A Danish Population-Based Survey and Register Study

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Gambling Studies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study compares the number of criminal charges among problem gamblers (N = 384) and non-problem gamblers including non-gamblers (N = 18,241) and examines whether problem gambling is more strongly associated with income-generating crimes like theft, fraud and forgery than other types of crimes such as violent crimes. A cohort study was carried out, based on data from the Danish Health and Morbidity Surveys in 2005 and 2010, which were linked at the individual level with data from The Danish National Criminal Register. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to determine the association between problem gambling and charges for different categories of crime. We found that problem gamblers had significantly higher odds of being charged than non-problem gamblers (adjusted odds ratio 1.5; 95 % confidence interval 1.1–1.9). The odds ratio for economic crime charges was 2.6 (1.5–4.5), for violence charges 2.2 (1.1–4.5), and for drug charges 3.7 (1.7–8.0). For road traffic charges the odds ratio was 1.3 (1.0–1.8). Hence, there was a strong association between problem gambling and being charged except for road traffic charges; however the association was not stronger for economic charges than for violence and drug charges.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Albanese, J. S. (1985). The effect of casino gambling on crime. Federal Probation ,49(2), 39–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Algren, M. H., Ekholm, O., Davidsen, M., Larsen, C. V. L., & Juel, K. (2014). Health behaviour and body mass index among problem gamblers: Results from a nationwide survey. Journal of Gambling Studies. doi:10.1007/s10899-013-9437-y.

    Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bergh, C., & Kühlhorn, E. (1994). Social, psychological and physical consequences of pathological gambling in Sweden. Journal of Gambling Studies, 10(3), 275–285.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Blaszczynski, A., & McConaghy, N. (1994). Antisocial personality disorder and pathological gambling. Journal of Gambling Studies, 10(2), 129–145.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Blaszczynski, A., McConaghy, N., & Frankova, A. (1989). Crime, antisocial personality and pathological gambling. Journal of Gambling Behavior, 5(2), 137–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bonke, J., & Borregaard, K. (2009). The prevalence of problematic gambling behaviour: A Scandinavian comparison. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 37(6), 654–660.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, R. I. F. (1987). Pathological gambling and associated patterns of crime: Comparisons with alcohol and other drug addictions. Journal of Gambling Behavior, 3(2), 98–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Curran, D., & Scarpitti, F. (1991). Crime in Atlantic City: Do casinos make a difference? Deviant Behavior, 12(4), 431–449.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ekholm, O., Eiberg, S., Davidsen, M., Holst, M., Larsen, C. V. L., & Juel, K. (2014). The prevalence of problem gambling in Denmark in 2005 and 2010: A sociodemographic and socioeconomic characterization. Journal of Gambling Studies, 30, 1–10.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gazel, R. C., Rickman, D. S., & Thompson, W. N. (2001). Casino gambling and crime: a panel study of Wisconsin Counties managerial and decision economics. Managerial and Decision Economics, 22(1–3), 65–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gosden, N. P., Kramp, P., Gabrielsen, G., Andersen, T. F., & Sestoft, D. (2005). Violence of young criminals predicts schizophrenia: A 9-year register-based followup of 15- to 19-year-old criminals. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 31(3), 759–768.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hakim, S., & Buck, A. J. (1989). Do casinos enhance crime? Journal of Criminal Justice, 17, 409–416.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hakim, S., & Friedman, J. (1985). The impact of casino gambling on crime in Atlantic City and its region. Research Report. National Institute of Justice, USA. https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=108233. Accessed August 15, 2014.

  • Hoebel, J., von der Lippe, E., Lange, C., & Ziese, T. (2014). Mode differences in a mixed-mode health interview survey among adults. Archives of Public Health, 72, 46.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, E. E., & Hamer, R. M. (1998). The Lie/Bet Questionnaire for screening pathological gamblers: A follow-up study. Psychological Reports, 83(3 Pt 2), 1219–1224.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, E. E., Hamer, R., Nora, R. M., Tan, B., Eisenstein, N., & Engelhart, C. (1997). The Lie/Bet Questionnaire for screening pathological gamblers. Psychological Reports, 80(1), 83–88.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kuoppamäki, S. M., Kääriäinen, J., & Lind, K. (2014). Examining gambling-related crime reports in the National Finnish Police Register. Journal of Gambling Studies, 30(4), 967–983.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lahn, J. (2005). Gambling among offenders: Results from an Australian survey. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 49(3), 343–355.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lesieur, H. R. (1984). The chase: career of the compulsive gambler. Cambridge, MA: Schenkman Publishing Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, G., & Stadler, M. A. (1999). Criminal behavior associated with pathological gambling. Journal of Gambling Studies, 15(1), 29–43.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Park, M., & Stokowski, P. A. (2011). Casino gaming and crime: Comparisons among gaming counties and other tourism places. Journal of Travel Research, 50, 289–302.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pastwa-Wojciechowska, B. (2011). The relationship of pathological gambling to criminality behavior in a sample of Polish male offenders. Medical Science Monitor, 17(11), CR669–CR675.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sakurai Y., & Smith R. G. (2003). Gambling as a motivation for the commission of financial crime. Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice, no. 256. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.

  • Skagerö, A., & Westfelt, L. (2006). En litteraturstudie om spel och kriminalitet [A literature study of gaming and crime]. SoRad Rapportserie, no. 33. Stockholm: Stockholms Universitet, SoRAD.

  • Stitt, B. G., Nichols, M., & Giacopassi, D. (2003). Does the presence of casinos increase crime? An examination of casino and control communities. Crime & Delinquency, 49(2), 253–284.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thygesen, L. C., & Ersbøll, A. K. (2011). Danish population-based registers for public health and health-related welfare research: Introduction to the supplement. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 39(suppl. 7), 8–10.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Turner, N. E., Preston, D. L., Saunders, C., McAvoy, S., & Jain, U. (2009). The relationship of problem gambling to criminal behavior in a sample of Canadian male federal offenders. Journal of Gambling Studies, 25(2), 153–169.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wheeler, S. A., Round, D. K., & Wilson, J. K. (2010). The relationship between crime and electronic gaming expenditure: Evidence from Victoria, Australia. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 27(3), 315–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zurhold, H., Verthein, U., & Kalke, J. (2014). Prevalence of problem gambling among the prison population in Hamburg, Germany. Journal of Gambling Studies, 30(2), 309–319.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Oster Farimagsgade 5 A, 2. Floor, 1353, Copenhagen K, Denmark

    Bjarne Laursen, Rikke Plauborg, Ola Ekholm, Christina Viskum Lytken Larsen & Knud Juel

Authors
  1. Bjarne Laursen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Rikke Plauborg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ola Ekholm
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Christina Viskum Lytken Larsen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Knud Juel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bjarne Laursen.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Laursen, B., Plauborg, R., Ekholm, O. et al. Problem Gambling Associated with Violent and Criminal Behaviour: A Danish Population-Based Survey and Register Study. J Gambl Stud 32, 25–34 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-015-9536-z

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-015-9536-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation