Gambling Treatment Programs Are Effective

A recent report evaluating Minnesota state-funded compulsive gambling treatment programs concludes that people who participate in treatment reduce their compulsive gambling behavior and its negative consequences, and that the state's investment in funding compulsive gambling treatment is having positive results. These programs were developed in response to concerns about growth in compulsive gambling activity.

The report, Evaluation of the Minnesota State-Funded Compulsive Gambling Treatment Programs, was conducted by Abt Associates of Cambridge, Massachusetts, an internationally recognized evaluation firm. The study was commissioned by the Minnesota Department of Human Services' (DHS) Mental Health Division, which oversees the state gambling treatment program, to determine:

• Does treatment for problem gamblers work?
• Does one type of treatment work better than others?

The evaluation was based on data gathered by Hazelden and the University of Minnesota between April 1992 and January 1996 (1,342 individuals) and Abt Associates Inc. to January 1997, the study consisted of approximately 1,800 individuals in six state funded compulsive gambling treatment programs.
Stinchfield, R., & Winters, K. (1996). Effectiveness of Six State-Supported Compulsive Gambling Treatment Programs in Minnesota. St. Paul: Compulsive Gambling Program, Mental Health Division, Minnesota Department of Human Services
Stinchfield, R. & Winters, K. C. (2001) Outcome of Minnesota's Gambling Treatment Programs. Journal of Gambling Studies, 17, 217--245

Major conclusions of the study, based on results of a multiple regression analysis, include:

• Treatment reduces compulsive gambling behavior and appears to be delivered at a reasonable cost by the programs surveyed. (The average treatment program lasts six months and costs about $3,000.)
• No treatment model was found to be more effective than any other.
• One-third of problem gamblers who received treatment for compulsive gambling also received treatment for either chemical dependency or mental health problems.
• Gamblers who wagered larger amounts (i.e., $1,000-$10,000) in a day were more likely to complete treatment than those who did not.
• Those with more than a high school education were more likely to enter and complete treatment than those with less education.
• People with incomes below $10,000 a year were four times more likely to incur gambling debt than those with higher incomes. Low-income people had higher debt-to-income ratios, meaning they were least likely to be able to repay their debt and might gamble even more to resolve their debt problems.

The study included people who completed treatment, left treatment prematurely, and declined treatment. Gamblers were evaluated six and twelve months after they left treatment. Seventy percent of those admitted completed treatment and:

• Had a greater reduction in their gambling behavior than those who were partially treated or received no treatment.
• Were less likely to have legal and personal problems than those untreated.
• Would have relapsed had treatment not been provided.

The report also describes characteristics of compulsive gamblers, the types of gambling in which they participate and problems they experience as a result of their gambling.

Abt Associates, Inc. Evaluation of the Minnesota State-Funded Compulsive Gambling Treatment Programs-Final Report. Cambridge, MA, July 21, 1997.