Gambling: political expediency and the harsh reality of problem gamblers

Can this situation be remedied? I am hopeful that it can but to regulate gambling properly would involve complicated tradeoffs among goals, conflict among social groups, and most of all, legislators with spines. First, governments have to recognise and be candid about the fact that there are healthy and unhealthy ways to gamble. The intricate combination of gambling formats, contexts, and player competencies produces distinctive gambling outcomes and behaviours that range from hazardous to salutary.

In my view, a salutary gambling experience is one that is beneficial to the participants and not harmful to society. It includes gambling formats that require an element of skill, are honestly run and provide fair odds; and are played by mentally capable individuals who:

• have met their personal, social, and vocational responsibilities;
• are using discretionary funds that they can afford to lose; and
• are treating the activity as a pastime and not a compulsion.

A hazardous gambling experience is one that jeopardises vulnerable individuals and endangers society at large. It includes long hours spent playing non-skilled, continuous-type games featuring predatory odds by disordered gamblers who can ill afford to lose. An obvious challenge for legislators is to recognise these differences and enact policy that facilitates salutary gambling and constrains hazardous gambling.