Dr. Irwin M. Cohen and Ms. Jennifer Keim

Senior Researcher, University of the Fraser Valley

General Counsel, BCLC

Experiences with BCLC’s Voluntary Self-Exclusion Program

Dr. Irwin Cohen

Amanda McCormick, PhD (ABD)

https://www.gaming.gov.bc.ca/reports/docs/rpt-bclc-self-exclusion-program.pdf

Time One Recruitment

472 Consent Forms Received Between June 6, 2013 and

March 24, 2014

19% of VSE Enrollers Consented to Participate in the Study

326 People or 69% of those who Originally Consented

Completed an Interview

Characteristic Study 1 (n = 161) Study 2 (n = 326)

Female 58% 53%

Ethnicity

Caucasian 77% 75%

Asian 8% 10%

Aboriginal 12% 6%

South Asian 1% 5%

Other 3% 5%

Age 46 years (19 - 77) 48 years (19 - 88)

English 96% 88%

Geographical Region

Lower Mainland 41% 45%

Interior 47% 39%

Island 10% 16%

Characteristic Study 1 (n = 161) Study 2 (n = 326)

Marital Status

Single 34% 38%

Married 34% 35%

Common Law 10% 12%

Employed 76% 71%

Income

Less Than $20,000 23% 22%

$20,000 - $49,999 45% 47%

More Than $50,000 25% 25%

Education

At least Some College - 29%

PREVIOUS GAMBLING HISTORY

Past Year Gambling Frequency

1%

10%

50%

14%17%

3% 5%

Forms of Past Year Gambling

80%72%

28%

11% 9% 7% 7% 5% 4%

Past Year Gambling

Land-Based Online

Average Range Average Range

# of Different Venues 3 0-15 - -

Amount at Risk $569 $25 - $10,000 $318 $2 - $5,000

Time Spent 250m 30m - 1440m 155m 10m - 660m

Amount Lost $1,569 $30 -$85,000 $1260 $2 - $30,000

Reasons for Gambling

Used to Gamble … %

Because it was Fun / Exciting 89%

Because of Boredom 80%

To Escape Uncomfortable Feelings 58%

Because One Big Win Would Solve Money Problems 58%

For an Opportunity to Socialize 46%

To Escape Family Problems 42%

To Escape Financial Problems 38%

To Escape Work Problems 25%

To Escape Health Problems 21%

Gambling Severity (n = 326)

3% 3%

21%

74%

No Problem Low Level Problems Moderate Problems Problem Gambling

Previous Attempts to Quit

Form of Support %

Self-Control 75%

Previous VSE 72%

Talk to Friend/Family 54%

PG Counselor 26%

Online Information / Resources 16%

Gambler’s Anonymous 15%

Problem Gambling Helpline 13%

Game Sense Advisor 13%

Other 5%

Gametalk 2%

VSE ENROLLMENT

Gap Between VSE Program Awareness and Enrollment

15%

20%

65%

Immediately Before Enrolling Between 1m-1y of Enrolling > 1 Year Before Enrolling

Source of VSE Awareness

78%

39%33%

19% 17%13% 12% 12% 9% 9% 7% 6%

Length of Enrollment and Satisfaction with Enrollment Length

31% 29%

7%

33%

92% 89%

100%

84%

6 months 1 year 2 years 3 years

Current Length Satisfaction

Rating of Enrollment Experience

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Security Alone Security w/GSA GSA

COUNSELLING

Consent to Counselling

2% 2%

11%

85%

2% 3%

24%

71%

No Problem Low Level Problems Moderate Problems Problem Gambling

Consent No Consent

Reasons for Accessing Counselling (n = 96)

90%65%

55%

15% 13% 9%

Reasons for Avoiding Counselling

84%

37% 35%29%

21% 19% 17%9% 7% 7% 3%

Reasons for No Counselling x PGSINo Problem Low/Mod Problem

Wanted to Deal with it Myself 60% 86% 83%

Didn’t Think it Could Help 20% 18% 42%

Don’t Think I have a Problem 60% 51% 32%

Didn’t have Time for it 40% 19% 32%

Didn’t Want Others to Know 0% 16% 24%

Too Ashamed to Talk to Anyone 0% 13% 22%

Thought Others Would Make Fun 0% 8% 9%

Didn’t Think They’d Speak My Language 20% 6% 6%

Couldn’t Afford It 0% 10% 6%

Didn’t Know It was Available 0% 2% 3%

Lack of Awareness of Counselling Options

63%58%

46%42%

35% 34%

25%

19%

Online Meet at

Location I

Choose

Change

Counsellor

Other

Areas

Meet at

Time I

Choose

Multiple

Forms

Speak

Multiple

Languages

Free

Supports Post VSE

%

Problem Gambling Counselling 15%

Mental Health Treatment 5%

Gambler’s Anonymous 3%

Financial Counselling 3%

Other Counselling 3%

Substance Use Treatment 3%

Other Support Groups 3%

Game Sense Advisors 2%

Marital Counselling 2%

Online Supports 1%

Problem Gambling Helpline 1%

TIME 2 INTERVIEWS6 Months Later…

83%

Current Enrollment Status

72% Still Under Previous Enrollment Agreement

11% of Those Expired Re-Enrolled by Time 2

Majority of Re-Enrollers Had Already Begun Gambling and Fears

Were Resurfacing

Majority of Non-Re-enrollers Wanted to Gamble Again,

Thought They Had Developed Better Self-Control, and Wanted

to Manage Their Gambling On Their Own

Gambling In Last 6 Months, Since Exclusion (n = 270)

%

No Gambling (Abstinent) 13%

Only Lotto 27%

Any Gambling Except Lotto 60%

Violation Attempts in Past 6 Months

23% 15%

Agreement Violators (n = 40)

On average, attempted to re-enter casino 11 times

Nearly all (97%) reported successfully re-entering on at least one attempt

67% went to different casino

46% were caught in past 6 months

Reasons for Violating

80%74%

69%62%

46%41%

31%

18%

Urge to

Gamble

Bored No

Penalty

No

Detection

Felt Lucky Depressed

/ Anxious

Needed

Money

Under

Influence

Profile of Agreement Violators

Marital Status Differed

• Violators More Likely Single (53% vs 35%) or Common Law

(20% vs 9%)

• Non-Violators More Likely Married (40% vs 20%) or

Divorced (10% vs 5%)

PGSI Scores

• No Difference on PGSI Total at Time 1 (Violators X = 13.4,

Non-Violators X = 11.9)

• Significant Difference on PGSI Total at Time 2 (Violators X

= 9.8, Non-Violators X = 3.1)

Percent of PGSI Group who Violated(n = 270)

7% 6%

15%

45%

No Problem Low Level Moderate Problem Gambling

Time 2 PGSI Scores Among Violators (n = 40)

10%13%

33%

45%

No Problem Low Level Moderate Problem Gambling

Non-Violators

90% 90%

59% 57% 56% 55% 51% 49% 46%

Counselling Access Past 6 Months

Significantly Higher PGSI at Time 1 (16.5 vs 11.3 of those

not accessing)

Non-Significantly Higher PGSI at Time 2 (6.3 versus 3.7)

22.5% of Violators versus 14% Non-Violators

93%

Incorrect Program Assumptions

Purpose of VSE is to Help me Take Time Out

• 14% Disagreed

VSE Purpose is to Completely Stop Me from Gambling

• 44% Agreed

I Will be Paid for Any Jackpots I Win While Excluded

• 8% Agreed

If I Lose in a Casino While Excluded, I Won’t Need to Pay For My Losses

• 5% Agreed

I Can Re-Enroll Post-Exclusion

• 1% Disagreed

Information I Gave During Enrollment is ONLY Shared with That Casino

• 3% Agreed

Going Forward….

Conclude All Time 3 Interviews

Analyze Qualitative Interviews with Sub-Sample of Violators

Obtain An Overall Profile of VSE Enrollers over Time 1 Recruitment Period

Conduct a survey with Non-VSE Casino Patrons

Provide Recommendations for Program Enhancement

Centre for Public Safety and Criminal Justice Research

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