The National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG) has announced the formation of two Centers of Excellence in Gambling Research at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut and the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities.
According to a press release distributed by the NCRG, the two new facilities “will employ a long-term, institutional approach to conducting innovative and multidisciplinary research and education programs about gambling disorders.” Research grants for the Centers were doled out by the Institute for Research on Gambling Disorders. The Institute’s Executive Director, Christine Reilly, told Poker News Daily why the organization selected Yale and the University of Minnesota: “We sent the proposals to an independent committee that looked at scientific merits of each location’s study. The leaders at Yale and the University of Minnesota are two of the most successful researchers in the field, so it wasn’t a surprise.”
Each center will receive a three year grant for research worth just over $400,000. At the conclusion of that time period, researchers can reapply for additional support. Reilly discussed the challenges of gambling-related studies: “Both of these Centers are working with human subjects. It takes a while to find participants, collect data, and publish data. In general, it’s a slow process and we need to be supportive of them.” A principle investigator will head up the research at each facility and studies will address multiple fields.
At the Ivy League institution, Dr. Marc Potenza “will examine the various factors that influence treatment of gambling disorders,” according to the organization’s press statement. Clinical trials involving the drug naltrexone, which is typically used to treat alcohol dependence, will take center stage. At the University of Minnesota, Dr. Jon Grant will “develop a model of impulsivity that will enable the identification of young adults at risk for developing pathological gambling.” The results of both studies are expected to be released in major publications, although no time frame was given for completion. The NCRG has given out over $7 million in grant money since it was established in 1996 and makes its home in Washington, D.C.
A separate study focusing on the effects of taking naltrexone appeared in “Biological Psychiatry and International Clinical Psychopharmacology” in 2001. In the NCRG-funded trial led by Dr. Suck Won Kim at the University of Minnesota, 30 participants engaged in 13 weeks’ worth of treatment. In the end, results showed that “naltrexone was effective in stopping cravings and, therefore, stopping gambling urges.” Other studies have centered on gambling among youth, gambling’s effects on the brain, and gambling among college students. Reilly noted that the Institute for Research on Gambling Disorders has funded numerous short-term studies. However, the establishment of two Centers represents the increased importance of long-term investigations. The NCRG’s very first study, which was conducted by the Harvard Medical School, found that between 1.14% and 1.60% of the “adult population could be classified as having pathological problems incident to gambling.”
Glenn Christenson, Chairman of the NCRG, explained in the same press release how the Centers of Excellence in Gambling Research fit in with his organization’s long-term mission: “In 1996, the NCRG launched the first competitive grants program in the U.S. to fund research into gambling disorders, so the creation of the new Centers of Excellence is consistent with the organization’s pioneering legacy of supporting the highest-quality research in this field.” Gambling research has taken center stage in Congressional committee hearings on bills to clarify the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). Last July, Congressman Spencer Bachus (R-AL) erroneously quoted a McGill University study stating that one-third of college students who gambled online ultimately attempted suicide. In reality, no such study had ever taken place.
In Minnesota, internet gambling has come under fire by the state’s Department of Public Safety, which issued notices to 11 internet service providers (ISPs) calling for the blockage of 200 gaming sites. The targets included USA-friendly rooms like Bodog and Full Tilt Poker as well as numerous sites that do not accept action from the United States. The Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) has filed a lawsuit challenging the Department of Public Safety’s actions.
