SEARCH NEWS:

 

Study: Video Lottery Speeds Addiction

DENVER – As reported by the Associated Press: "Gamblers who played video lottery terminals or slot machines moved from social gambling to pathological gambling four times as fast as gamblers who bet on horse or dog races, according to a Rhode Island study.

"The author of the study predicted last week that compulsive gambling would increase in Colorado if voters approve a proposal on the Nov. 4 ballot to allow video lottery terminals at some casinos and racetracks in Colorado.

" 'People gamble after work. There's a term for it. It's called convenience gambling,' said Bob Breen, director of the Rhode Island Gambling Treatment Program, who wrote the study.

"…The Rhode Island study found that people who play video lottery or slot machines became addicted to gambling in an average of 15 months - four times as fast as those betting on horses or dogs.

"…He attributes the rapid transition to addictive gambling to the terminals themselves, whose sounds, lights and frequent near misses give gamblers pleasure 'every three to five seconds with the push of a single button.'…"

< Gaming News