Impact of Opening a Casino [e-journal article]

The article "A Prospective Study of the Impact of Opening a Casino on Gambling Behaviours: 2- and 4-Year Follow-Ups" appears in the October 2006 issue of The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry.

(p. 771) One year after the opening of the casino, results indicated a significant increase in casino gambling activities and in the amount of money lost to gambling of the Hull, compared with the Quebec, respondents. However, contrary to our hypotheses, this trend was not maintained 2 and 4 years later.

(p. 772) Limitations of the study include the fact that it assessed gambling activities without behavioural indicators (future studies could examine the possibility of using “player’s cards” to assess gambling frequency and the amount of money spent), and the fact that the pathological gambler is not necessarily addicted only to casino games. Other limitations are that additional data need to be collected in relation to gambling problems associated specifically with casino activities and that a third-party assessment of gambling activities was absent.