Problem Gambling — A Decade of Change

Welte | Barnes | Wieczorek
Data from this survey was compared to a 2000 survey to analyze trends in gambling in the U.S. over the past decade.

Since Dr. John Welte’s National Survey of the Co-occurrence of Gambling and Substance Use in the U.S. in 2000, there has been rapid growth of both the public profile and availability of gambling in this country. In this national telephone survey of adults, Dr. Welte and colleagues collected information about the respondents’ gambling and substance involvement, census data about the respondents’ neighborhoods, distances from the respondents' homes to gambling venues, and information about state gambling laws. This data was combined with the data from the 2000 survey for the purpose of analyzing trends in gambling in the U.S. over the last decade among U.S. adults generally, as well as in relevant sub-groups of the population. The research team examined the relationship between gambling trends and changes in state gambling laws, changes in the density of gambling facilities, changes in U.S. neighborhoods and changes in social approval of gambling. Additionally, they examined forms of gambling that have recently grown in popularity, such as internet gambling, fantasy football and Texas Hold-em poker. This investigation will supply empirical data which are relevant to current controversies about gambling policy and liberalized gambling regulations in the U.S. 

Principal Investigator
John Welte, PhD
Research Institute on Addictions

Co-Investigators
Grace Barnes, PhD
Research Institute on Addictions

William Wieczorek, PhD
Buffalo State College

Funding Agency
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

Grant Number
R01-AA018097

Dates
2009-2015