The Relationship of Problem Gambling to Criminal Behavior in a Sample of Canadian Male Federal Offenders

Abstract

This article examines the prevalence of moderate and severe problem gambling in a sample of 254 incarcerated Canadian male federal offenders (completion rate of 39.0%). The prevalence of disordered gambling was measured using the PGSI, DSM-IV-TR, and SOGS that yielded estimates of 9.4%, 6.3%, and 13.0%, respectively. Severe problem gamblers were significantly more likely to have committed income producing offences, but were neither more nor less likely than other offenders to have committed violent offences. The majority of severe problem gamblers (65.2%) and a fifth of the moderate problem gamblers (20.0%) reported that their criminal activity was a result of their gambling (e.g., to pay off debts). Based on these findings there appears to be a need to offer problem gambling treatment services to offenders in order to help them break the cycle of gambling, debt and crime.

Addressing the Issue of Problem Gambling in the Criminal Justice System: A Series of Case Studies

“…Similar prevalence numbers have been found in more recent studies (May-Chahal, Wilson, Humphreys, & Anderson, 2012;Turner, Preston, McAvoy, & Gillam, 2013;Turner, Preston, Saunders, & McAvoy, 2009). Among participants recruited from several provincial and federal correctional institutions in Ontario, Turner et al (2009Turner et al ( , 2013 report that slightly less than a quarter of those surveyed had either a moderate or severe gambling problem and, in particular, 9% had a severe gambling problem . The rate of moderate and severe problem gambling (PG) in these studies is about 10 times that of the general population (Williams, Volberg, & Stevens, 2012).…”

“…Our review uncovered a number of programs within the criminal justice system that have been implemented to help individuals with gambling problems. As noted in the Introduction, previous studies have shown that many people in correctional settings have a severe gambling problem (e.g., May-Chahal et al, 2012;Perrone et al, 2013;Turner et al, 2009Turner et al, , 2013Williams et al, 2005). Although several case studies involved programs that offered services to this population, currently none of the programs examined are widely available to people who are incarcerated.…”

“…The rate of moderate and severe problem gambling (PG) in these studies is about 10 times that of the general population (Williams, Volberg, & Stevens, 2012). Turner et al (2009) also interviewed their participants and found that problem gamblers often reported being caught in a cycle of gambling, debt, and crime, followed in turn by more gambling. For example, one participant reported that ''gambling led to debt, my debt led to crimey and around it goes'' (p. 163).…”

“…For example, one participant reported that ''gambling led to debt, my debt led to crimey and around it goes'' (p. 163). Turner et al (2009) reported that 65% of participants with pathological gambling described gambling as a criminogenic factor in at least some of their criminal activity. If unable to resolve their gambling problems, it is likely that they will continue to be caught in this cycle.…”

Gambling Problems Among Community Cocaine Users

“…Problem gambling has been linked to a variety of harmful mental and physical health consequences, as well as a wide variety of problems such as high criminality and homelessness (Blaszczynski and Silove 1996;Shaffer et al 2004;Stein et al 2012;Turner et al 2009). These consequences make PG an important public health problem, especially for more vulnerable populations (Gainsbury et al 2014;Korn and Shaffer 1999;Papineau 2010;Shaffer and Hall 2001) such as individuals with a history of problematic substance use.…”