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Digitalized and globally intertwined with online gaming, gambling
addiction threatens in particular young people and children. We
interviewed Dr. Marc Potanza from the Department of Psychiatry of
the Yale University School of Medicine about the changes witnessed
in gambling addiction and the measures that need to be taken.
How would you assess the current
global situation in regards to
gambling addiction?
Gambling disorder, as the official
diagnostic
term
for
gambling
addiction, has recently been classified
in DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders) and ICD-
11 (The International Classification of
Diseases) as a behavioral addiction.
Although gambling has been part of
many cultures around the world for
millennia, changes have occurred that
have altered many people’s gambling
behaviors. For example, Internet
gambling has seen a substantial
increase over the past decade, and
the ways in which people gamble
on the Internet differ from the ways
they gamble offline, due in part to
the differences in availability and
accessibility. Additionally, gambling
and video gaming have seen a
convergence, and protecting young
people fromtransitioning fromgaming
to gambling, and then on to gambling
addiction, is of vital importance.
What is being done to protect public
health, and what is planned for the
future?
Different jurisdictions have taken
different approaches to protecting
public health. Some countries have
banned gambling altogether, others
are endeavoring to deter people from
gambling through taxation or various
other restrictions, while gambling
is unregulated in others. The World
Health Organization introduced a
definition of hazardous gambling
in ICD-11, aiming to address risky
gambling behaviors that have not
yet risen to the level of a gambling
disorder. Over the past five years, the
World Health Organization has been
meeting to discuss the development
of
gambling-related
assessment
instruments that can be used by
different
jurisdictions.
What roles can civil society
organizations play in this field?
Multiple stakeholders exist and
should be involved in the prevention
of gambling disorders, and in helping
people with the condition. Groups
involved in providing gambling (both
governmental and non-governmental)
should work to safeguard public
health. Understanding the potential
impacts of gambling, and particularly
among the potentially vulnerable
groups, is important in this process.
Policy makers should enact and
enforce laws that protect people from
developing gambling problems, and
should support interventions that
help people who have developed such
problems. Agencies that support
research into preventative, treatment
and public health should provide
sufficient funding for gambling-
related research. Publichealthofficials
and healthcare providers should be
educated in gambling disorders, and
in how best to prevent and treat them.
What is your opinion of Green
Crescent and its efforts in this area?
Green Crescent has been active in
addressing gambling disorders on
multiple fronts. The Green Crescent
Society has supported and has been
involved in the undertakings of the
World Health Organization aimed at
addressing hazardous and disordered
gambling.
Green
Crescent
has
provided education in the prevention
and treatment of gambling disorders
within Turkey. Through such efforts,
public health both in Turkey and
around the world will be improved.
Interview by: Kemal Altın
Policy makers should
enact and enforce laws
that protect people from
developing gambling
problems, and should
support interventions that
help people who have
developed such problems.
DR. MARC POTANZA;
“DIGITALIZED GAMBLING
TRIGGERS ADDICTION”
Dr. Potanza lectures in the Department
of Psychiatry of the Yale University
School of Medicine He is a Director of
the Neurology Department, Center for
Child Studies, the Center of Excellence
in Gambling Research, the Research
Program on Impulsivity and Impulse
Control Disorders, and the Women and
Addictions Core of Women’s Health
Research at the same university.
WHO IS DR. MARC POTANZA?
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