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Abstract

This paper does a separate and independent review of the various studies put forth by National Addictions Management Service (NAMS) in relation to pathological gambling from 2009 to 2013. The findings are analyzed in totality and split into 2 sections, looking at the evolving demographics of help-seeking gamblers (looking at a clinical population as opposed to general public targeted by the NCPG survey) over the years and the predictors of treatment outcomes. It was found that, over the years, (i) more gamblers are driven to gamble as a way to cope with their psychiatric co-morbidities and (ii) psychologist distress is also a common outcome due to the consequences of gambling. It was also found that there is a need to further examine the standard psychosocial treatment guidelines (mainly based on a cognitive behavioural approach) for the gamblers to better meet the idiosyncratic needs of the non-strategic gambler.