"The next best thing": a study of problem gambling.

Traditionally, gamblers whose repeated losses have resulted in serious financial, psychological, and social problems have been labeled "compulsive." The prevailing "illness model" of compulsive gambling was developed by clinicians from the reports of those seeking treatment to stop gambling. However, researchers working in natural gambling settings generally have disavowed a compulsion model. Concerns over the efficacy of the traditional model and the therapeutic approach it produces are particularly salient since the proliferation of legalized gambling is expected to fuel a dramatic increase in problem gambling. Drawing upon empirical observations of ongoing gambling groups, a unique and comprehensive model of problem gambling is presented. Treatment plans generated from the new model, unlike prevailing programs, are compatible with a "controlled" regimen.