Australia's Gambling Industries - Productivity Commission

• poor health and mental health problems; and
• the cost of gambling treatment.
Briefly, the study found that:
• Pathological gamblers had relatively high employment (76.3 per cent) at the time
of the survey. But they were significantly more likely to have lost/been fired
from a job (13.8 per cent versus 4 per cent for low-risk gamblers). The mean
household income for pathological gamblers was about 15 per cent lower than
for low-risk gamblers, but this difference was not statistically significant.
• Problem gamblers were significantly more likely to have been unemployed or at
least not working at the time of their interview (58.9 per cent, versus 73.3
per cent for low-risk gamblers). Their rate of having lost or been fired from a job
was also higher (10.8 per cent compared to 2.6 per cent for non gamblers).
Wage rates did not appear to be impaired in this group.
• Pathological gamblers have clearly elevated rates of indebtedness, both in an
absolute sense and relative to their income. Pathological gamblers owe $1.20 for
every dollar of annual income, while low-risk and non gamblers only owe $0.80
and $0.60 respectively. Pathological gamblers have significantly elevated rates of
having ever declared bankruptcy: 19.2 per cent, versus 5.5 per cent and 4.2
per cent for low-risk and non gamblers.
• For problem gamblers, their average level of indebtedness is actually the lowest
of any type of gambler; however, they still have an elevated rate of bankruptcy
(10.3 per cent).
• Those with gambling symptoms have much higher rates of lifetime arrests and
imprisonment. About one-third of problem and pathological gamblers reported
having been arrested, compared to 10 per cent for low-risk gamblers and only 4
per cent for non gamblers. About 23 per cent of pathological gamblers and 13
per cent of problem gamblers have been imprisoned. Again, these rates are much
higher than rates for low-risk gamblers and non gamblers (4 and 0.3 per cent,
respectively).
• 33.8 per cent of pathological gamblers reported that they were in poor or only
fair health, while only 14 per cent of low-risk gamblers reported poor or fair
health.
• About 13 per cent of problem and pathological gamblers reported past-year use
of mental health services while utilisation was just under 7 per cent for low-risk
and non gamblers.
The quantification of the costs are summarised in table K.2.
RECENT US COST
ESTIMATES
K.3