Gambling Proliferation Attacked by Therapist Without Evidence

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A California family therapist says increased exposure to gambling availability is causing more problem gambling, but his only evidence is anecdotal, while scientific research indicates otherwise.

While admitting that modern studies seem to prove pathological gambling is a result of chemical imbalances in the brain, a California therapist claims proliferation of gaming is creating new problem gambling cases. Michael Halyard says in a press release that "gambling is ubiquitous" and that "more gambling opportunities mean more compulsive gamblers."

Halyard acknowledges that compulsive gamblers have been found to have higher levels of dopamine or lower levels of norepinphrine in their brains than the average person. Yet somehow he concludes that increasing availability of gambling will cause new pathological gamblers, even though he doesn't say that the proliferation would cause a change in dopamine or norepinphrine levels.

"Science is now showing us that for addicts, the part of the brain that is in charge of decision making is broken, which is why addicts of all kinds continue the addictive behavior in spite of ever increasing negative consequences," states Halyard. This would seem to be consistent with international surveys showing the percentage of problem gambling victims remains extremely constant around the world, regardless of tight or loose gambling laws.

But, without any useful statistical evidence, Halyard says he's been told stories by counselors that problem gambling is on the rise.

“My colleagues tell me that they have gotten an increase in those seeking treatment for gambling addiction, including underage teens that get hooked on Internet gambling,” asserts Halyard.

However, anecdotal evidence is considered close to useless in determining scientific fact. Without controls and measures, word-of-mouth recollections are subject to mistakes, exaggeration, and outside factors beyond the study. For instance, even if Halyard's friends' instincts turned out to correspond to an actual numerical increase, the cause could be more readily accessible help programs, rather than more individual problems.

Without objective scientific measurement, such as Dr. Howard Shaffer's years-long study at Harvard Medical School proving how slight the danger of problem gambling at online casinos is, anecdotal tales by interested parties is about as useful as a car salesman's opinion on how great the car he is selling is.

Published on January 2, 2010 by VirginiaMaddox

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