A report published this month in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry by a Harvard-led team of researchers shows that many gambling addicts recover without treatment. This may contradict the accepted view of problem gamblers but confirms the finding of an earlier study published in New Zealand.

In September 2004 the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) reported results of its research in an edition of the international ‘Substance Use and Misuse.’ It was the first study undertaken anywhere to follow a diverse community sample of problem and prospective problem gamblers over a lengthy period of time.

The study showed that problems do not have the lasting effect that many researchers and clinicians generally believe and that the majority of people with gambling disorders overcame their problem without treatment and could continue to gamble in a responsible manner. This was particularly true of slot machine gambling – betting on horses and dogs had the highest incidence of chronic problem gambling.

The Canadian research team found that gambling is a dynamic phenomenon, with addicts falling in and out of problem gambling. While conventional wisdom looks upon problem gambling as a degenerative addiction, many clinicians in Canada believe it is a behaviour that can be overcome. The conclusions drawn by the Canadian researchers synthesise findings of five major long-term studies. (E-01.30.08)

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