Study Proves Problem Gambling Can Be Treated Effectively

A non-biased study of problem gamblers who have gone through problem gambling treatment programs shows that with proper treatment compulsive gamblers can be treated effectively 90% of the time.

Researchers interviewed 75 participants in a Nevada state-funded treatment programs who agreed to participate in the study. The participants had all completed a treatment program located in Nevada.

Ninety percent of those interviewed said they liked the services they received, with all but one saying they would recommend the program to friends and family members. The gamblers who were interviewed were reported to have thought about gambling almost 100% of the day prior to treatment. Several participants were on the verge of suicide before they received treatment.

More than eighty percent of those interviewed said they were better able to control their lives after treatment, sixty-seven percent of them said their financial situation had improved greatly since treatment ended, and seventy-three percent said they had re-established important relationships with friends and family. Perhaps as important to the success of the treatment, eighty-four percent of the former problem gamblers interviewed said they were spending less time thinking about gambling.

The research, paid for by state grants authorized in 2005, also found that for a handful of gamblers with other addictions, the gambling treatment also addressed those problems, such as compulsions to eat and to shop.



2007-06-05