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Study: Casino not an addicts' haven

There are problem gamblers at casinos, but not appreciably more than in the general population, according to a researcher's study on gambling addiction.

"I think people think there's going to be much more problem gamblers (at a casino)," said Cheryle Molina, a researcher with the University of Connecticut Health Center's Gambling Research and Treatment Center. "But, I don't think it was that much higher than the general population. It is higher though."

The preliminary results are part of a series of larger studies into problem gambling the center hopes to conduct over the coming months, Molina said.

Molina has been interviewing gamblers at Mohegan Sun casino during the past two months and screening them for other possible studies into gambling addiction. Gamblers were given surveys into their gaming habits to determine if they were eligible for the other studies.

Molina said she interviewed about 500 gamblers. Her early estimate: 5 percent of people interviewed had serious gambling problems. That's about the same percentage of problem gamblers in the general population.

"We went (to Mohegan Sun) because we wanted people that gamble and we did find people that had gambling problems," Molina said. "I don't know if it was a wild success, but it was very productive for us."

Molina said the number of study applicants recruited at Mohegan Sun was about the same as the center gets through radio and newspaper ads.

When the study began, Nancy Petry, an associate professor of psychiatry at the health center and the principal investigator for its gambling research project, said there had been many studies on problem gambling in the general population, but few studies have been conducted within the casino.

She said researchers expected to find a much higher percentage of problem gamblers at Mohegan Sun than in other studies.

Molina said there is usually a higher percentage of problem gamblers in and around casinos.

"The more (gaming) options there are in the state, the more gambling problems there are," she said.

For more information on treatment for problem gambling, call the Gambling Research and Treatment Center at 1-877-400-0570