National Council on Problem National Council on Problem Gambling ConferenceGambling ConferenceMoving Forward in a Challenging EconomyMoving Forward in a Challenging Economy

July 13-14, 2012  Milwaukee, WIJuly 13-14, 2012  Milwaukee, WI

Presenters: Joanna Franklin and Presenters: Joanna Franklin and Carl RobertsonCarl RobertsonCouncil on Compulsive Gambling Council on Compulsive Gambling of PA, Inc.of PA, Inc.

Smart Choices:

Youth Problem Gambling Prevention Program

When Does Gambling Become a Problem?Young people develop gambling problems just as

adults do.

Gambling is a problem when you:- Often find yourself thinking about gambling- Miss school or work in order to gamble- Spend more and more money on gambling

activities- Become restless or irritable when trying to cut

down or stop gambling- Gamble to escape or forget your problems- Gamble more to win back what you have already

lost in gambling- Spend your lunch or carfare money on gambling- Take money from someone you live with, without

their knowing, in order to gamble- Steal money from outside the family or shoplifted

in order to gamble- Experience problems, arguments, fights etc. with

your family or close friends because of your gambling.

Sponsored by the Council on Compulsive Gambling of Pennsylvania

with support from the Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Programs, the Pennsylvania Lottery and the Gaming

Control Board

A Program to help identify gambling problems and

Stop them before they Start

SMART CHOICESSMART CHOICES

To learn more go to: WWW.PACOUNCIL.COM

Problem Gambling Helpline: 800-848-1884

Smart ChoicesFunded through BDAP

• Model: 3 year Pilot (2009 – 2012)

• Type of program: primary prevention

• Content: Award winning

• Focus: School/Community Partnership

• Geographical: Statewide

• Evaluation (Year One and Two completed)

Smart Choices Structure

• Year One

Four Session Model

1. Pre: Assessment

Level 1 or Level 2

2. Session 1

3. Session 2

4. Post: Assessment

• Year Two• Five-Six Session• 1. Pre: Assessment• Level 1 or Level 2• Sessions 2 and 3• CD-ROM-The Amazing

Chateau or Hooked City• Session 4 and 5 • 6. Post: Assessment

Workshops - schools

– Elementary and High-School level

– Highly Interactive ► Targeted intervention

– Themes: Gambling definition, at-risk people, chance and independance of events, addiction, warning signs, help resources, stress management, coping, problem-solving skills, etc.

– Requested by schools

Primary School workshop: some examples of topics addressed

Game of skill: I can control, to some extent, a game of skill. If I practice often enough, I can become better at it.

Game of chance: I can’t control a game of chance. Even if I practice often, I will never become better at it.

                                                                                                                   

Can you tell the difference between games of chance and

games of skill?

High School workshop: some examples of topics addressed

Any game of chance or skill that involves financial risk.

– Lottery tickets– Cards for money (poker, blackjack)– Sports betting (sports pools)– VLT (video lottery terminals)– Bingo– Casino games

                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

• 4% of adolescents have a gambling addiction.

• In every class of 25, 1 student would have this addiction.

• Most are boys, but girls can also have a serious problem.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

CD-ROMSessions 4 and 5

CD-ROM-ProgramCD-ROM-Program

The Amazing Chateau The Amazing Chateau With Level 1 students With Level 1 students

Hooked CityHooked CityWith Level 2 studentsWith Level 2 students

• Outline the objectives of the CD-rom• Give background information on youth gambling• Present the content of every activity so that

teachers are fully aware of their students’ exposure

• Provide a list of FAQs• Provide guidelines on how to facilitate classroom

discussion following use of the game• Provide definitions of gambling-related terms

Two levels: – Elementary: The Amazing Chateau– Junior and secondary: Hooked City – Self-administered but supervised by

facilitator (teacher manual included)– Reinforces: Information and education– Raising awareness in children and

adolescents about the risks involved in gambling

CD-ROM

– Two types of activities

• “Gambling”: The player loses more than he wins and he is reinforced when quitting the activity

• “Skill”: The player receives accurate information on gambling and some attitudes and erroneous beliefs are challenged.

► Protective factors

• While most children and adolescents start gambling for fun, some end up with a serious gambling problem.

• BE CAREFUL. This is an addictive pastime and you can get hooked before you know it. If you feel you must gamble from time to time, do it with moderation. Set limits, and respect those limits.

                                                                                                                                                                                                           

                                                                   

Smart Choices pilot project: Results from year 1

Rina Gupta, Ph.D.McGill University

Pennsylvania 2010

Smart choices program

• Implemented three prevention tools designed by child psychologists / researchers at the International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High-Risk behaviours.

• A separate evaluation was performed for each of the three prevention programs:

1. Youth gambling prevention awareness: Level 1

2. Youth gambling prevention awareness: Level 2

3. Hooked City

Youth gambling prevention awareness: Level 1

• Interactive Power Point presentation• Conducted by prevention specialist• Grades 4-7 is target audience for this

prevention tool• Defines gambling, clarifies misconceptions,

addresses concept of skill vs. chance driven activities, dispels myths associated with gambling, educates youth about the risks involved, and allows students to address their concerns.

Results: Level 1

• 5 groups of grade 5 children in three schools• 109 students received program but evaluation based on 90 total

(due to absences or incomplete surveys)• Decrease in gambling rates from pre-test to post-test (unexpected

in short time-frame)• Increase in knowledge and understanding of the roles of skill vs.

luck, as well as randomness as they pertain to gambling• Increase in awareness that gambling can be problematic for youth• Concern: sports wagering still viewed as skill-based• Concern: Still view skilled VG player as being a skilled gambler as

well (belief in transfer of skill)• Overall effective (Repeated measure analysis)

(F= 27.77, P<.001)

Youth gambling prevention awareness: Level 2

• Interactive Power Point presentation• Conducted by prevention specialist• High School is target audience for this prevention

tool• Informs about risks, promotes responsible play,

addressed erroneous beliefs and cognitions pertaining to gambling, highlights consequences of gambling problems, and provides students an opportunity to discuss their gambling (or the play behaviours of their peers) in a safe and non-judgemental setting.

Results Level 2

• 5 groups of grade 10 students (boys)• 126 students completed the program and 121 were

present at post-test• In terms of gambling participation, only scratch card

play showed a decrease• There was an increase in awareness of the role that

chance plays in gambling activities• Concern: There was only a marginal improvement for

knowledge of the minor role skill plays in gambling activities, and there was a slight decrease in knowledge of ‘independence of events’.

Results Level 2 – con’t

• On a more positive note, there were gains in understanding the risks of online gambling.

• They also understood better that the ‘house’ always holds an advantage

• Concern: Despite understanding that online practice sites offer higher “win rates”, they are still inclined to believe that they would win lots of money playing online.

• There was no noticeable improvement on the understanding of the benefits of responsible play behaviours, although 70% of students endorsed the need to play responsibly from the outset.

Results Level 2- con’t

• The majority of youth understand that gambling is not an ideal way to make money

• There was a noticeable reduction in erroneous cognitions pertaining to gambling

• Most understood that problem gambling is defined by loss of control and not amount of money lost

• Overall a repeated measures analysis found this project to be effective, F=7.81, P= .006)

Hooked City

• Interactive computer game (CD-ROM)

• Designed for high school students

• Can be played alone or in groups

• Addresses the risks associated with excessive gambling, dispels myths, and provides students with feedback about their knowledge and understanding of gambling and/ or problem gambling

Results Hooked City

• 39 boys and girls completed this program, ranging in age from 14-16

• Sample size very small so results need to be interpreted with that in mind

• General decrease in gambling behaviour was noted• Majority have a clear understanding of the definition of

gambling • Tremendous improvement in understanding that poker

is not solely skill driven• Decreased endorsement of poker as a good way to

make money was found

Results Hooked City- con’t

• Very good improvements noticed for understanding of role of chance and luck, with less of a belief that they have control over gambling outcomes.

• Increase in understanding of the complexity of problem gambling (not just about money lost)

• This program was also found to show meaningful benefits. A repeated measures analysis concluded overall gains. F= 22.84, p<.001

General Conclusions

• Overall the three programs showed short-term gains overall

• The greatest benefits were yielded with the Hooked City program for high school students

• Primary school students benefitted very well from the power point Presentation

• This pilot project has provided us with good direction for future application of these programs with youth in Pennsylvania

Year Two

• The second year evaluation was based on the use of the 5-6 session model.

• Level 1 incorporated both the power point presentation with Amazing Chateau

• Level 2 incorporated both the power point presentation with Hooked City

Results: Level 1• Summary• The combination of the Level 1 workshop and the Amazing

Chateau interactive prevention program has resulted in a successful combination for these grade 7 students.

• With respect to important findings, children continue to recognize that people can become addicted to gambling like drugs, they are well aware that a gambling problem can occur independent of one's socio-economic status, and in general understand that superstitious behaviors (e.g., praying, carrying a 'lucky' rabbits foot, etc.) do not improve one's chances of winning.

• Children also left the Smart Choices program with a good understanding of the fact that gambling outcomes are usually out of their control, and that if they chose to gamble they should do so in moderation and set personal limits.

Results Level 2

• This program was presented at two schools, with a total of 217 (102 males; 115 females) youth in grade 8 (representing 10 groups from Wilkes-Barre) (N= 179) and four groups from Philadelphia in grade 9 (N=38) youth. The ages of the children ranged between 12-17, with 95% of the students being between ages 13-15, and 4.2% being slightly older (ages 16-17).

• Meaningful differences in knowledge, attitudes and cognitions were noted from pre-intervention to post-intervention. For example, an increase in awareness that picking winning lottery tickets is purely based on chance (75.1% at pre-intervention vs. 84.3% at post intervention), that there is a considerable amount of luck involved in playing poker (8.8% at pre-intervention vs. 12.9% at post intervention), and dice games (49.8% at pre-intervention vs. 69.6% at post intervention).

General Conclusions• While a number of differences were observed between the

groups, there is little doubt that this brief intervention program as part of the Smarter Choices Program significantly enhances children's awareness about the risks associated with excessive gambling, helped reduce erroneous cognitions and misperceptions, and enhanced their knowledge about the risks associated with problem gambling. In addition to better understanding the risks, the students gained a better understanding of what it means to gamble responsibly.

• This evaluation also highlights where modifications and continued discussions should be directed. The combination of the workshops and the interactive games yielded even stronger findings than when the programs are used alone (as compared to Year One). As accessibility and availability of gambling venues continue to grow in Pennsylvania, additional widespread youth intervention and awareness programs appear warranted.

RESOURCES

• Be aware of local resources:

1-800 GAMBLER

Free, confidential referral service, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week in English and Spanish.

Council on Compulsive Gambling of Pennsylvania, Inc. www.pacouncil.com / 1-215-389-4008

Carl Robertson: cersilk@comcast.net

McGill University: International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems & High-Risk Behaviors: www.youthgambling.com

Council on Compulsive Gambling of Pennsylvania Council on Compulsive Gambling of Pennsylvania

Thank You!

Council on Compulsive Gambling of PennsylvaniaCouncil on Compulsive Gambling of Pennsylvania

Presented ByPresented By

Carl RobertsonCarl RobertsonCouncil on Compulsive Gambling of Council on Compulsive Gambling of

PennsylvaniaPennsylvania

www.smartchoices.cer@gmail.com