Problem gambling report should not be dismissed: advocates
Posted Jun 9, 2011 05:27:28 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Now that a report on the social and economic impact of gambling in the province has been released, an anti-gambling group is urging the government not to dismiss it.
The Dexter government shelved the paper for two years calling the research “flawed” and the methodology questionable.
Terry Fulmer, a director of the anti-gambling group Game Over V-L-T, said the province should consider the work and shouldn’t have taken so long to release it.
“I really question their motive when they say this study is terrible and they haven’t come up with a date or a time when they’re going to do their own study and learn from what they suggest is flawed in this one,” said Fulmer.
The study estimates an average of six people commit suicide every year because of problems related to gambling.
Researcher Mark Anielski said the figures come from two experts at the provincial Health and Wellness Department, as police and the coroner’s office don’t keep those statistics.
“We think it’s reasonable given, also, what the estimates in Alberta are showing,” said Anielski.
The government denies anyone from its Health and Wellness Department contributed to the paper.
The report also shows about 20 per cent of the 55 problem gamblers surveyed by telephone in 2008 said their habit causes physical and mental health issues.
The study was only released after a lengthy freedom-of-information process.
