Q. How will the Safe Gaming System help?
A. When the Safe Gaming System is deployed and used as designed, its users are prevented from gambling excessively or in a harmful way. It will also raise awareness of the issues associated with problem gambling, which will lead to better prevention and practices.

Q. Is the SGS anti-gambling or anti-gaming?
A. No. The SGS serves customers who choose to gamble. It is designed to prevent them from become afflicted with gambling problems themselves, or causing social and economic problems for others, due to gambling abuses or addiction. It is our objective to assist in educating and raising awareness of these issues, and to abate them through making our resources readily available.

Q. What is the SGS' relationship with gaming companies?
A. The participation of the gaming industry, as a partner in eliminating/preventing problem gambling, is crucial to the success of the entire effort. We find that responsible gaming industry organizations do not desire to capitalize on negative behavior nor do they encourage unlawful or underage gambling. Gaming industry leaders realize that the industry as a whole must act in a socially responsible manner, like any other business that desires to be viable in the long run. SGS actively promotes interaction of gaming industry representatives with our other stakeholders, including our customers, government organizations, researchers, counselors, treatment centers, and the public-at-large.

Q. Why should a gaming industry company become involved in preventing gambling problems?
A. Progressive gaming company representatives understand the need to integrate with the other stakeholders in support of a responsible approach toward their serving their customers. Active support of SGS clearly demonstrates a gaming company's concern for the overall welfare of their customers.

Q. Is someone who gambles a lot a compulsive gambler?
A. Not necessarily. Many people who gamble frequently are simply people who enjoy gambling as entertainment. Generally these people set aside a predetermined amount of money for gambling, gamble for fun rather than for the "certainty" of winning, recognize that they are likely to lose, and don't bet more than they can afford to lose. It's also possible to have gambling problems without being a compulsive gambler -- someone can go out and lose a lot of money at a casino after being denied a promotion, for example. Often this sort of problem resolves itself without professional intervention.

Q. Who becomes a compulsive gambler?
A. Compulsive gamblers can be male, female, young, middle-aged, old, wealthy, poor, white, or people of color. Recently, the National Opinion Research Center of the University of Chicago study completed the first-ever national (U.S.) survey on problem gambling prevalence. The study found that young adults, ethnic minorities, and people with little education were slightly more likely to have serious gambling problems, but the differences were not very large.

Q. Can adolescents become compulsive gamblers as well?
A. Yes. The National Opinion Research Center study found that 1.5 percent of 16 and 17 year olds could be considered problem or pathological gamblers, or about half the rate for adults. It is not yet known, however, to what extent adolescent gambling predicts problems in an adult.

Q. Is there a link between compulsive gambling and chemical dependency?
A. Yes. In several studies approximately 50 percent of problem gamblers were found to also have drug or alcohol problems, while studies of people in treatment for substance abuse have found between 10 and 30 percent also having a gambling problem. People may have both addictions simultaneously, or can switch from one addiction to another.

Q. Is compulsive gambling associated with other mental health problems?
A. It appears that in many cases the answer is yes. Various studies have found high rates of alcoholism, depression, anti-social personality disorder, mood disorders, and other conditions in pathological gamblers, leading some researchers to suspect that problem gambling is often a symptom of an underlying condition.

Q. Can compulsive gamblers be helped?
A. Yes. Studies have shown that treatment is effective in a great many existing cases. A wide-range of programs are available, from Gamblers Anonymous to inpatient treatment centers to individual counseling. There is no one program that is right for all people. If a treatment program hasn't worked for a particular individual, a different program may well succeed where others failed. Unfortunately, treatment programs are not equally available in all locations. Introduction of the Safe Gaming System (SGS) will help in prevention. This new invention provides the gambler and the gaming organization with the tools to ensure that potentially harmful situations are prevented or minimized.

Q. What types of gambling cause the most problem gambling?
A. Most researchers and mental health professionals believe that different types of gambling cannot be said to "cause" problem gambling. Dr. Durand Jacobs, for example, has written: "it appears that the addict's pursuit and over indulgence in alcohol, other drugs, food, gambling, sex, overwork, or whatever, is NOT the addicts "problem". On the contrary, a person's addictive pattern of behavior represents that person's best SOLUTION to the stresses generated by their long-standing underlying problems." Dr. Julian Taber has written: "Blaming alcohol or gambling for an addiction has important negative consequences..… It allows the patient to focus on treatment and discharge plans that deal with everything except personal change." That being said, problem gamblers are attracted to different forms of gambling for different reasons. Some are attracted to the sensory stimulation of video games of chance, while others to the perception of skill in cards or sports betting. Still others are drawn to the seemingly easy money of high-risk investments. Many, if not most, pathological gamblers indulge in more than one form of gambling. However, studies of pathological gamblers have found that the most frequently cited games of preference are slot machines, card games, and sports betting. A Minnesota study of 944 gamblers in treatment found that 37 percent listed slot machines as their preferred game and 37 percent listed cards. Lottery games, dice games, and games of skill were each cited by less than 1 percent of those in the study. (Stinchfield and Winters, 1996)

Q. So then what causes compulsive gambling?
A. This is another area in which research continues. Different researchers have suggested a number of character traits. Dr. Richard Rosenthal, for example, has cited three components he believes necessary: an intolerable feeling state, such as helplessness, depression, or guilt, a highly developed capacity for self-deception, and exposure to gambling under circumstances in which it is valued. Other researchers have suggested that physical or hereditary predispositions may play a role. These links have not been proven or disproven.

Q. Is it true that 40 percent of white-collar crime is caused by compulsive gambling?
A. This is a frequent quote, which is attributed to a study by the "American Insurance Institute." However, there is no such study and no such institute. A Gaming Law Review article by Dr. Joseph Kelly discusses the origins and persistence of this particular myth.

Q. So is there a relationship between compulsive gambling and crime?
A. Undoubtedly yes, though there is little hard information about the extent and nature of the link. Some pathological gamblers turn to crimes such as embezzlement or writing bad checks as their gambling losses mount. One Australian study showed about 36 percent of gamblers in treatment programs had committed crimes that they attributed to their gambling problem (Blaszczynski et al, 1989). However, a recent German study points out that in many cases the criminal behavior preceded the gambling behavior and points out that in at least some cases the factors predisposing one to an addiction may also predispose someone to criminal activity (Meyer, 1997). The link between pathological gambling and substance abuse and between substance abuse and criminal behavior further complicates this relationship.