Co-occurrence of Gambling and Substance Use in the United States
This study was a nationwide telephone Survey of Gambling in the United States (SOGUS) conducted in 1999-2000 with 2,631 U.S. adults. It included a geographic analysis using census data and the distances from the respondent’s home to gambling facilities such as casinos and tracks. It found a prevalence of pathological gambling of between one and two percent, and also found a very strong co-morbidity between gambling and alcohol pathologies. The study also found that respondents living in disadvantaged neighborhoods had a higher than average chance of being pathological gamblers, as did those who lived within 10 miles of a casino. Funded by a grant of $1,194,053 from NIAAA, 1998-2002.