Jacques C, Ladouceur R, Ferland F
Research Associate, Ecole de psychologie, Université Laval, Quebec, Quebec.
Can J Psychiatry. 2000 Nov;45(9):810-5. doi: 10.1177/070674370004500904.
Legalized gambling opportunities have markedly increased in most industrialized countries. While most authors agree that the rate of pathological gamblers is related to the accessibility of gambling activities, no published studies have yet empirically estimated the impact of the introduction of new gambling activities within a longitudinal study. Thus, we evaluate the impact of the opening of a casino on gambling activities among nearby inhabitants.
A random sample of 457 respondents from the Hull area (experimental group) and 423 respondents from the Quebec City area (control group) completed the South Oaks Gambling Screen and related questions, both before the opening of the Casino de Hull and 1 year later. Within each household contacted, a resident was randomly chosen by selecting the adult whose birthday was next.
The experimental group exposed to the new casino showed a significant increase in 1) gambling on casino games, 2) the maximum amount of money lost in 1 day on gambling, 3) reluctance toward the opening of a local casino, and 4) the number of participants who reported knowing a person who has developed a gambling problem in the last 12 months.
The impact of legalized gambling is discussed in relation to the availability of gambling.
在大多数工业化国家，合法赌博机会显著增加。虽然大多数作者都认为病态赌徒的比例与赌博活动的可及性有关，但尚无已发表的研究在纵向研究中对引入新的赌博活动的影响进行实证估计。因此，我们评估了一家赌场开业对附近居民赌博活动的影响。
从赫尔地区抽取457名受访者（实验组）和从魁北克市地区抽取423名受访者（对照组）组成随机样本，在赫尔赌场开业前及开业1年后完成南橡树赌博筛查及相关问题调查。在每个被联系的家庭中，通过选择生日排在下一位的成年人随机挑选一名居民。
接触新赌场的实验组在以下方面出现显著增加：1）参与赌场游戏赌博；2）一天内在赌博中损失的最大金额；3）对当地赌场开业的抵触情绪；4）报告在过去12个月中认识有赌博问题者的参与者数量。
结合赌博的可得性对合法赌博的影响进行了讨论。
