Responsible gaming is always the goal of the casino industry. No one wants anyone who is at risk to be hurt by the products and services provided by the casinos. And with the quick legalization of sports betting—particularly the mobile variety—the industry needs to be aware of how this will impact those afflicted with problem gambling issues.
That’s why this year’s National Center for Responsible Gaming Conference on Gambling and Addiction—the 20th anniversary of this important gathering—will play a key role in determining how the industry responds to this challenge.
The NCRG is one of the most important agencies in gaming. Founded in 1996 by the American Gaming Association, the NCRG’s mission is to help individuals and families affected by gambling disorder by supporting the finest peer-reviewed, scientific research into gambling disorder; encouraging the application of new research findings to improve prevention, diagnostic, intervention and treatment strategies; and advancing public education about gambling disorder and responsible gaming.
More than $27 million has been committed to the NCRG, through contributions from the casino gaming industry, equipment manufacturers, vendors, Native American casinos, related organizations and individuals. And now it’s time for the companies and organizations affiliated with sports betting to step up to the plate.
This year’s NCRG conference contains a wide variety of topics. From an examination of 20 years of gambling research and the concurrent 20th anniversary of the National Gaming Impact Study Commission to an examination of recovery models and various treatments of gambling disorders, the NCRG conference will reveal groundbreaking research and studies.
Starting on Sunday, October 13, the NCRG conference includes tracks for clinicians, researchers and public health professionals, as well as for industry professionals and regulators. Several plenary sessions highlight the program, and a special presentation on a new “Gambling Court” in Nevada that intercedes for disordered gamblers who commit crimes to support their habit.
Continuing education credits are also available to professionals involved in problem gambling treatment.
The NCRG conference features expert speakers who will delve deeply into the issues that confront problem gambling advocates on a daily basis and will bring solutions and options to the table.
For more information on the NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction, refer to the G2E app or visit NCRG.org.
PLENARY SESSIONS AT NCRG
October 13, 2019
1:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. • Twenty Years of Gambling Research
What have we learned after 20 years of gambling disorder research? A distinguished panel of the leading gambling researchers will trace the evolution of the field and also point to new directions for future inquiry.
Panel: Robert Ladouceur, Ph.D., Laval University
Marc Potenza, MD, Ph.D., Yale University
Jon E. Grant, JD, MD, MPH, The University of Chicago
2:45 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. • 20th Anniversary of the National Gambling Impact Study Commission
The National Gambling Impact Study Commission was charged by Congress with “a very broad and difficult task—to conduct a comprehensive legal and factual study of the social and economic implications of gambling in the United States.” The commission issued its report in 1999. This panel will reflect on the impact of the report on the gambling landscape after 20 years.
Panel: Frank Fahrenkopf, Jr., Former President & CEO, American Gaming Association,
Katherine Spilde, Ph.D., MBA, San Diego State University
Christine Reilly, National Center for Responsible Gaming
Roger Gros, Global Gaming Business
4:00 p.m. -5:00 p.m. • Health Disparities and Minorities in Gambling and Addiction
All fields of study struggle with a historical disconnect from ethnic, socioeconomic and cultural minorities, and the fields of addiction and gambling are no exceptions. This session offers multiple views on ameliorating this situation in the context of studying and developing public health responses to gambling disorder.
Panel: Victor Ortiz, Massachusetts Department of Public Health
Jessica Perrotte, University of Texas at San Antonio
Dipali Rinker, Ph.D., University of Houston
5:15 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. • Gambling Treatment Diversion Court in Nevada
The Gambling Treatment Diversion Court, modeled on specialty courts such as drug court, helps disordered gamblers recover without incarceration. This session will focus on the first such court in Nevada.
Panel: Judge Cheryl Moss, Eighth Judicial Court
Dayvid Figler, Figler Law Group
October 14
8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. • How to Work with Clients Who Don’t Want to Quit Gambling
This session will look at the ethical and practice issues related to working with clients who may have severe gambling problems but do not want to quit gambling. It will cover ways to consider using effective harm reduction strategies and will challenge clinicians to consider harm reduction and abstinence treatment goals in the context of providing client-centered problem gambling care.
Speaker: Janine Robinson, Responsible Gaming Council
9:15 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. • Internet Interventions for Problem Drinking and Problem Gambling
There is a need for internet interventions, especially for gambling disorder, which has a low rate of treatment-seeking. But do they work? Dr. John Cunningham will review online interventions for problem drinking and problem gambling. He will focus on the research base for these interventions including his own studies.
Speaker: John Cunningham, Ph.D., Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
10:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. • Three Ways that Neighborhood Disadvantage is Associated with Disordered Gambling
This session will evaluate how genetic risk factors and exposure to neighborhood disadvantage are both associated with disordered gambling. This presentation will weave together the research on genetic and neighborhood effects by providing evidence from genetically informed research about three ways that neighborhood disadvantage is associated with disordered gambling.
Speaker: Wendy Slutske, Ph.D., University of Missouri, Columbia
