The Norwegian Gambling Authority has just published an extensive survey conducted during autumn 2013, concerning gambling problem in Norway. The sample consists of 10.046 people, a large number taking into account Norwegian population. The method adopted is the Canadian Problem Gambling Index that is now the international standard. The study is available in the Internet. It is in Norwegian, but there is an abstract in English.
The last Italian institutional survey is the IPSAD (Italian Population Survey on Alcohol and other Drugs) that had been conducted in 2010-2011 by the CNR on a sample aged 15-64 years, using the CPGI method. This survey investigates all addictions. It is still available only a short account of the study, published last February on the CNR’s website.
Prevalence rate measured by the Norwegian survey are as follows:
• 59,1% of the total sample aged 16-74 participated in gambling during the previous 12 months,
• 7,8% of the people in the sample are low risk gamblers,
• 2,4% are moderate risk gamblers,
• 0,6% are problem gamblers,
• 26,7% of the gamblers, that is 15,8% of the sample, had gambled on line in the last 12 months.
Let us now see results showed by the Italian survey:
• 47% of the total sample aged 16-64 participated in gambling in the previous 12 months,
• 11% of the gamblers, i.e. 4,9% of the sample, are low risk gamblers,
• 4,9% of the gamblers, i.e. 2,0% of the sample, are moderate risk gamblers,
• 0,6% are problem gamblers,
• this study does not show the rate of online gamblers, but we know that Italian online gamblers are around 2 million, i.e. roughly 5% of total adult population.
Let us resume also results of the British Gambling Prevalence Survey 2010, measured using the CPGI method on a sample of 7.747 people aged 16 years and over. The study is obviously available in the Internet:
• 73% of people in the sample participated in gambling in the previous 12 months (56% excluding those who had only gambled on the National Lottery draw),
• 5,5% of the people in the sample are low risk gamblers,
• 1,8% are moderate risk gamblers,
• 0,7% are problem gamblers,
• 14% of the sample had gambled on line in the last 12 months.
In conclusion, rate of problem gambling in Italy is close, but a little lower in all, than rate measured in Norway and in Great Britain. Italian online gamblers are in percentage 1/3 both of Norwegians and British.
The Norwegian survey represents results neutrally and avoid to express any evaluation on the severity of gambling’s social impact in Norway. It points out the prevalence of gambling problems is lower than that had been found in six previous Norwegian studies. It does not appear gambling is considered in Norway a problem out of control and causing social alarm. It is interesting to note the same study investigates also addiction caused by videogame.
The British survey also adopts a neutral tone and avoid moral evaluations. Great Britain looks very carefully at excessive gambling problems, but does not cry for social alarm.
The CNR instead presented its survey results using those words: “Gambling, at last, creates a true health and social emergency, …”. That is in line with moral panic fed by many third sector associations and most of the media and the politicians.
