Gambling Disorder: A look at the “new” users

Journal title MISSION
Author/s Sara Rolando, Sonia Ammesso, Elvira Arcidiacono, Maddalena Calcagno, Gaia Cuomo, Stefano Golasmici, Monica Pimpini, Annalisa Pistuddi, Patrizia Sofia, Federico Durbano
Publishing Year 2024 Issue 2023/62
Language Italian Pages 7 P. 16-22 File size 0 KB
DOI 10.3280/mis62-2023oa16568
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

View article Download Open Access article

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

By giving a voice to clients of the ASST Melegnano and Martesana services in treatment for gambling disorders, this qualitative study was conducted to investigate experiences and opinions of two specific targets - women and online gamblers - who, although representing a minority, are expected to grow in numbers. In fact, both women's and online gambling have specific characteristics, resulting from the intersection of socio-cultural factors, gaming environments and technical infrastructures. The contribution therefore offers a synthesis of the theoretical knowledge on the two topics, in the light of which the results of a focus group and some individual interviews are presented and discussed, highlighting the main aspects useful for constructing interventions capable to provide tailored answers to the two targets’ specific needs.

Keywords: ; problem gambling; women; online gambling; gambling careers; self-regulation

  1. Abbott M.W., Romild U., Volberg R.A. (2014). Gambling and problem gambling in Sweden: Changes between 1998 and 2009. Journal of Gambling Studies, 30: 985-999. DOI: 10.1007/s10899-013-9396-3.
  2. Abbott M., Binde P., Clark L., Hodgins D., Johnson M., Manitowabi D., Quilty L., Spångberg J., Volberg R., Walker D., Williams R. (2018). Conceptual Framework of Harmful Gambling: An International Collaboration, Third Edition. Gambling Research Exchange Ontario (GREO). Ontario, Canada: Guelph.
  3. ADM (Agenzie delle accise, dogane e monopoli) (2021). Libro blu 2021. www.adm.gov.it/portale/libro-blu-organizzazione-statistiche-e-attivitaanno-2021.
  4. Bergamo S. (2022). Domanda e offerta terapeutica per disturbo da gioco d’azzardo nell’ASST Melegnano e della Martesana. Rapporto di ricerca.
  5. Berry R., Fraehlich C., Toderian S. (2002). Women’s experiences of gambling and problem gambling. Winnipeg: Ontario Problem Gambling Research Centre.
  6. Blaszczynski A., Nower L. (2002). A pathways model of problem and pathological gambling. Addiction, 97(5): 487-499. DOI: 10.1046/j.1360-0443.2002.00015.x.
  7. Bowden-Jones H., Prever F. (2021). Donne e disturbo da gioco d’azzardo. Una prospettiva al femminile su trattamento e ricerca. Edizioni d’Este.
  8. Cerrai S., Resce G., Molinaro S. (a cura di) (2017). Consumi d’azzardo 2017 – Rapporto di ricerca sulla diffusione del gioco d’azzardo fra gli italiani attraverso gli studi IPSAD® e ESPAD® Italia. www.avvisopubblico.it /home/wp-content/uploads /2018/06/Consumidazzardo-2017.pdf.
  9. Corrao S. (2000). Il focus group. Milano: FrancoAngeli.
  10. Deans E., Thomas S.L., Daube M., Derevensky J. (2017). The role of peer influences on the normalisation of sports wagering: a qualitative study of Australian men. Addiction Research & Theory, 25(2): 103-113. DOI: 10.1080/16066359.2016.1205042.
  11. Gainsbury S.M., Russell A., Wood R., Hing N., Blaszczynski A. (2015). How risky is Internet gambling? A comparison of subgroups of Internet gamblers based on problem gambling status. New Media & Society, 17(6): 861-879. DOI: 10.1177/1461444813518185.
  12. Grant J., Kim S. (2002). Parental bonding in pathological gambling disorder. The Psychiatric Quarterly, 73: 239-247. DOI: 10.1023/A:1016044906341.
  13. Grant J.E., Odlaug B.L., Mooney M.E. (2012). Telescoping phenomenon in pathological gambling: Association with gender and comorbidities. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 200(11), 996. DOI: 10.1097/NMD.0b013e3182718a4d.
  14. Griffi ths M.D., Auer M. (2011). Approaches to understanding online versus offl ine gaming impacts. Casino and Gaming International, 7(3): 45-48.
  15. Griffiths M.D., Barnes A. (2008). Internet gambling: an online empirical study among student gamblers. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 6: 194-204.
  16. Hubert P., Griffi ths M.D. (2018). A Comparison of Online Versus Offline Gambling Harm in Portuguese Pathological Gamblers: An Empirical Study. Int J Ment Health Addiction, 16: 1219-1237. DOI: 10.1007/s11469-017-9846-8.
  17. Kraus L., Loy J.K., Bickl A.M., Schwarzkopf L., Volberg R.A., Rolando S., … Örnberg J.C. (2022). Self-exclusion from gambling: A toothless tiger?. Frontiers in psychiatry, 13, 992309. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.992309.
  18. Ladd G.T., Petry N.M. (2002). Gender differences among pathological gamblers seeking treatment. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 10(3): 302-309. DOI: 10.1037/1064-1297.10.3.302.
  19. Lesieur H.R. (1977). The chase: Career of the compulsive gambler. Anchor Press.
  20. Marionneau V., Järvinen-Tassopoulos J. (2022). Treatment and help services for gambling during Covid-19: Experiences of gamblers and their concerned signifi cant others. Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 39(1): 10-24. DOI: 10.1177/14550725211030727.
  21. McCarthy S., Pitt H., Bellringer M.E., Thomas S.L. (2021). Strategies to prevent and reduce gambling harm in Australian women. Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy, 1-11. DOI: 10.1080/09687637.2021.1973963.
  22. Mora-Salgueiro J., García-Estela A., Hogg B., Angarita-Osorio N., Aman B.L., Carlbring P., … Colom F. (2021). The prevalence and clinical and sociodemographic factors of problem online gambling: A systematic review. Journal of Gambling Studies, 37(3): 899-926. DOI: 10.1007/s10899-021-09999-w.
  23. Nyemcsok C., Pitt H., Kremer P., Thomas S.L. (2022). Viewing young men’s online wagering through a social practice lens: implications for gambling harm prevention strategies. Critical Public Health. DOI: 10.1080/09581596.2022.2031888.
  24. Odoardi S., Albasi C. (2013). Donne e gioco d’azzardo: uno sguardo d’insieme sul fenomeno [Women and gambling: an overview]. Recenti progressi in medicina, 104(12): 631-636. DOI: 10.1701/1373.15265.
  25. Pacifi ci R., Mastrobattista L., Minutillo A., Mortali C. (a cura di) (2019). Gioco d’azzardo in Italia: ricerca, formazione e informazione: risultati di un progetto integrato. Rapporti ISTISAN. 19/28. www.centroexplora.it/it/doc/Rapporto_ISTISAN_gioco_d_azzardo.pdf.
  26. Pacifici R. (2018). 1° Convegno Nazionale. Il gioco d’azzardo in Italia. Presentazione in power point del 18/10/2018. www.iss.it/documents/20126/0/Il-gioco-dazzardo-in Italia_Risultati_Adulti.pdf/ea051291-f3f4-b906-cbe7-1148972f8d1d?t=1576340346416.
  27. Piquette-Tomei N., Norman E., Corbin Dwyer S., McCaslin E. (2008). Group therapy for women problem gamblers: A space of their own.
  28. Journal of Gambling Issues, 22(22): 275-296. https://hdl.handle.net/10133/689.
  29. Prever F., Locati V. (2021). Female gambling in Italy: a specific clinical experience. In: Bowden-Jones H., Prever F. (eds.), Gambling disorders in women: an international female perspective on treatment and research. New York: Taylor & Francis, pp. 124-140.
  30. Rolando S. (2022). “Perciò è azzardo, perché non sai cosa trovi”. Il rapporto tra videogiochi e azzardo nella prospettiva dei giovani gamer. Rapporto di ricerca. IRES Piemonte.
  31. Rolando S., Beccaria F. (2019). “Got to gamble, but I’ve got no money”. A qualitative analysis of gambling careers in South Italy. International Gambling Studies, 19(1): 106-124. DOI: 10.1080/14459795.2018.1517816.
  32. Rolando S., Cuomo G. (2023). Disturbo da Gioco d’Azzardo e “nuovi” utenti. Rapporto di ricerca. https://eclectica.it/disturbo-da-giocodazzardo-e-nuovi-utenti-report-di-ricerca-di-approfondimento-sugiocatrici-donne-e-giocatori-online.
  33. Rolando S., Ferrari C. (2021). “Per me era soltanto un vizio”. Lo stigma e altre barriere all’accesso al trattamento per gioco problematico. Rapporto di ricerca. https://eclectica.it/per-me-era-soltanto-unvizio-lo-stigma-e-altre-barriere-allaccesso-al-trattamento-per-giocoproblematico.
  34. Rolando S., Ferrari C., Beccaria F. (2023). “To me, it was just a vice”. Stigma and Other Barriers to Gambling Treatment in Piedmont, Italy. Journal of Gambling Studies. DOI: 10.1007/s10899-023-10214-1.
  35. Rolando S., Scavarda A., Beccaria F. (2019). “Tra un po’ anche nei cessi c’erano le macchinette”. Una ricerca qualitativa sulle carriere del gioco d’azzardo e sull’impatto della regolamentazione in Piemonte. Rapporto di ricerca. https://eclectica.it/category/pubblicazioni/page/2.
  36. Rolando S., Wardle H. (2023). “That’s why it’s gambling, because you don’t know what you find in it!”. Perceptions of the relationship between gaming and gambling among young adult gamers. Journal of Youth Studies. DOI: 10.1080/13676261.2023.2174012.
  37. Sanders J.M. (2014). Introduction: Women, addiction, and the double standard. Women in narcotics anonymous: Overcoming stigma and shame. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 1-14. DOI: 10.1057/9781137430496_1.
  38. Spagnolo L.M. (2017). Tipologie di intervento. In: Croce M., Jarre P. Il Disturbo da Gioco d’Azzardo, un problema di salute pubblica. Indicazioni per la comprensione e l’intervento. Edizioni Publiedit.
  39. Volberg R. (2003). Has there been a ‘feminization’ of gambling and problem gambling in the United States?. The Electronic Journal of Gambling Issues, 8, May. DOI: 10.4309/jgi.2003.8.7.
  40. Wardle H., Moody A., Griffiths M., Orford J., Volberg R. (2011). Defining the online gambler and patterns of behaviour integration: Evidence from the British Gambling Prevalence Survey 2010. International Gambling Studies, 11(3): 339-356. DOI: 10.1080/14459795.2011.628684.
  41. Wardle H., Moody A., Spence S., Volberg R., Jotangia D., Griffiths M., Hossey D., Dobbie F. (2010). British Gambling Prevalence Survey. London UK, National Centre for Social Research.
  42. Wood R.T., Williams R.J. (2011). A comparative profile of the Internet gambler: Demographic characteristics, game-play patterns, and problem gambling status. New Media & Society, 13(7): 1123-1141. DOI: 10.1177/1461444810397650.

Sara Rolando, Sonia Ammesso, Elvira Arcidiacono, Maddalena Calcagno, Gaia Cuomo, Stefano Golasmici, Monica Pimpini, Annalisa Pistuddi, Patrizia Sofia, Federico Durbano, Disturbo da Gioco d’Azzardo: uno sguardo sui “nuovi” utenti in "MISSION" 62/2023, pp 16-22, DOI: 10.3280/mis62-2023oa16568