Gambling has seen a significant increase in Italy in the last 10 years and has rapidly become a public health issue, and for these reasons the first National Helpline for Problem Gambling (GR-Helpline) has been established. The aims of this study are to describe the GR-Helpline users' characteristics and to compare the prevalence rates of the users with those of moderate-risk/problematic gamblers obtained from the national survey (IPSAD 2010-2011). Statistical analysis was performed on data obtained from the counselling sessions (phone/e-mail/chat) carried out on 5,805 users (57.5% gamblers; 42.5% families/friends). This confirms that the problems related to gambling concern not only the gamblers but also their families and friends. Significant differences were found between gamblers and families/friends involving gender (74% of gamblers were male; 76.9% of families/friends were female), as well as age-classes and geographical area. Female gamblers had a higher mean age (47.3 versus 40.2 years) and preferred nonstrategy-based games. Prevalence rates of GR-Helpline users and of moderate risk/problematic gamblers were correlated (Rho = 0.58; p = 0.0113). The results highlight the fact that remote access to counselling can be an effective means of promoting treatment for problem gamblers who do not otherwise appeal directly for services.
This study analyzed the outcome predictors of an Internet-delivered cognitive behavior therapy (ICBT) for problem gambling, examining users' socio-economic profile and gambling behavior. Being males and employed, the fact of playing and to have gambling problems for less than a year, preference for non strategy-based games, and high frequency of playing were found to be predictors of therapy dropout. The findings from this study, though preliminary, suggest that certain patients' socio-economic characteristics and gambling behavior may have a bearing on the success or failure of an ICBT and that there is a need to adapt the therapy for those individuals at risk. In fact, detect at an early stage of the therapeutic relationship those patients with a greater propensity to dropout may allow the implementation of appropriate and customized approaches to reduce the difficulties to follow and complete a therapy.
The aim of this study is to provide an estimate of the social costs of gambling in Italy. In line with other research on social costs, the present study estimates the consequences of gambling harm on public finances, focusing on the estimated costs to treat high-risk gamblers, costs associated with productivity losses, costs of unemployment, personal and family costs, crime and legal costs. We used two different approaches to calculate these costs. The first approach, used for health care costs, consists of using the lump sum spent to prevent the harm caused to high-risk gamblers. The second approach involves estimating the number of high-risk gamblers causing the cost, which is then multiplied with the average unit cost per person. Our estimates of the annual social costs of gambling in Italy – more than EUR 2.3 billion – demonstrate a substantial economic burden to society. However, the costs are a substantial underestimate, as they are limited to those of a public nature and do not take into consideration those costs borne by moderate and low-risk gamblers, as well as affected others.
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