Past Programs
Gambling - 2004
Inside the Mind of the Problem Gambler (Part 2 of 2)
25/09/2004
The second in our two part series on the mind of the problem gambler. An explosion in the number of poker machines has completely changed the nature of Australian gambling. At the same time, the experts can't agree on whether or not problem gambling is a disease. And yet, the answer is crucial in shaping our clinical, governmental and individual responses to problem gambling. Putting the genie back in the bottle.
Inside the Mind of the Problem Gambler (Part 1 of 2)
18/09/2004
Australians love a punt - over 80 per cent will gamble at one stage or another. And yet, for a small fraction of us, gambling will cause very serious problems indeed. Why and how those problems occur, and what to do about it, are still very much matters of debate. Is severe problem gambling a disease or an illness? Is it an addiction in the clinical sense? Are people born with a predisposition to problem gambling? Could there even be a problem-gambling gene? There's no agreement on the answers, and yet they're crucial in shaping our responses to problem gambling: clinically, economically, governmentally, and individually. This week the first of a two-part series on the mind of the problem gambler.
