Problem Gambling Intervention Services in New Zealand
2007 Service-user statistics
Public Health Intelligence
Monitoring Report No. 18
Citation: Ministry of Health. 2008. Problem Gambling Intervention Services in New Zealand: 2007 Service-user statistics. Wellington: Ministry of Health.
Published in August 2008 by the
Ministry of Health
PO Box 5013, Wellington, New Zealand
ISBN 978-0-478-31790-9 (print)
ISBN 978-0-478-31791-6 (online)
HP 4624
This document is available on the Ministry of Health’s website:
http://www.moh.govt.nz
Foreword
In the past decade gambling-related harm has emerged as a significant social and health issue for New Zealanders. A continued demand for problem gambling services has been accompanied by a significant rise in player losses during this period, with over $2 billion lost in 2007.
It is important to monitor problem gambling in New Zealand, including the use of problem gambling services, in order to better understand the effects problem gambling has on people in our communities, and their families.
This report presents information on client numbers and demographic characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, age and geography. It examines the modes of gambling of people with, or affected by, gambling problems who have sought help either through the Gambling Helpline or through one of the many providers of face to face intervention services. An indication of how well clients have progressed with intervention is also presented.
In accordance with the Gambling Act 2003, the Ministry of Health is responsible for the prevention and treatment of problem gambling. This role includes funding and co-ordination of national and local problem gambling services, risk awareness and in-depth research into the burden and extent of harm. The monitoring of the problem gambling research programme contributes to Objective 7 of the Strategic Plan for Preventing and Minimising Gambling Harm 2004 – 2010: Develop a programme of research and evaluation.
Comments on this report are welcome, and should be sent to Public Health Intelligence, Health and Disability Systems Strategy Directorate, Ministry of Health, PO Box 5013, Wellington.
Deborah Roche Dr Janice Wilson
Deputy Director-General Deputy Director-General
Health and Disability Systems Strategy Directorate Population Health Directorate
Acknowledgements
The author of this report is Erin Holmes (Advisor, Epidemiology) of Public Health Intelligence, Health and Disability Systems Strategy Directorate.
The author would like to thank Dr Grant Paton-Simpson (provider of face-to-face intervention services data) and the Chief Executive Officer, Gambling Helpline Ltd, who developed and maintain the problem gambling information systems and provided analysis of the data from the intervention services. Thanks to John Wong (National Manager, Asian Services, Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand) for providing the Asian Gambling Hotline data. The author is also grateful to the service providers around the country who continue to collect and enter data into the problem gambling information system.
The author gratefully acknowledges input from the peer reviewers: the Chief Executive Officer of Gambling Helpline Ltd, DrGrant Paton-Simpson, John Markland (Department of Internal Affairs), Dean Adam (Senior Contracts Manager, Problem Gambling), and Miranda Devlin (Advisor, Statistics, Public Health Intelligence).
Contents
Foreword iii
Executive Summary x
Introduction 1
Telephone helpline services 1
Face-to-face intervention services 2
Technical Notes 4
Gambling Helpline Ltd 4
Face-to-face intervention services 6
Trends in Service Use 10
Key findings 10
Gambling Helpline trends in services 10
Asian Gambling Hotline trends in services 14
Face-to-face counselling trends in services 14
Client Characteristics 20
Key findings 20
Primary mode of problem gambling 21
Additional mode of problem gambling 25
Geographic spread of clients 28
Gender 30
Age distribution 35
Ethnicity 40
Gender and ethnicity 47
Suicidal behaviour of Helpline clients 48
Face-to-face Client Progress 50
Key findings 50
Demographics of reassessed clients 51
Change in progress measures: reassessed clients 51
Progress comparisons 55
References 60
Appendix 1: Further Tables 61
Appendix 2: Progress Comparisons 2007 69
List of Tables
Table 1: Gambling Helpline Ltd: number of client contacts and percentage change from previous year, new and follow-up, 1998–2007 11
Table 2: Gambling Helpline Ltd: number of clients, by frequency of contact, 2007 12
Table 3: Gambling Helpline Ltd: website statistics, 2002–2007 13
Table 4: Asian Gambling Hotline: number of new clients, 2005–2007 14
Table 5: Face-to-face intervention services: total full clients, by client type, 1997–2007 15
Table 6: Face-to-face intervention services: client composition, new full clients, 2007 15
Table 7: Face-to-face intervention services: treatment duration, all full clients, 2002–2007 15
Table 8: Face-to-face intervention services: summary statistics of dollars lost in the four weeks before first assessments, full clients, 1999–2007 18
Table 9: Face-to-face intervention services: SOGS-3M summary statistics for first assessments, new full clients, by primary gambling mode, 2007 24
Table 10: Face-to-face intervention services: summary statistics of dollars lost in four weeks before first assessment, new full clients, by primary mode of gambling, 2007 25
Table 11: Face-to-face intervention services: primary and additional modes of problem gambling for gamblers, new full clients, 2006–2007 28
Table 12: Gambling Helpline Ltd: origin of contacts, new gambler, significant other and interested other clients, by District Health Board, 1999–2007 29
Table 13: Face-to-face intervention services: SOGS-3M summary statistics for first assessments, new full clients, by gender, 2007 34
Table 14: Face-to-face intervention services: summary statistics of dollars lost in four weeks before first assessment, new full clients, by gender, 2007 35
Table 15: Face-to-face intervention services: SOGS-3M summary statistics for first assessments, new full clients, by age group, 2007 39
Table 16: Face-to-face intervention services: summary statistics of dollars lost in four weeks before first assessment, new full clients, by age group, 2007 39
Table 17: Face-to-face intervention services: primary mode of problem gambling for gamblers, new full clients, by age group, 2007 40
Table 18: Face-to-face intervention services: SOGS-3M summary statistics for first assessments, full clients, by ethnicity, 2007 45
Table 19: Face-to-face intervention services: summary statistics of dollars lost in four weeks before first assessment, new full clients, by ethnicity, 2007 46
Table 20: Face-to-face intervention services: primary mode of problem gambling, new full clients, by gender and ethnicity, 2007 47
Table 21: Gambling Helpline Ltd: suicidal behaviour, new gamblers and significant others, 1999–2007 49
Table 22: Face-to-face intervention services: gamblers, reassessed full clients, by gender and ethnicity, 2007 51
Table A1: Gambling Helpline Ltd: numbers of new clients and percentage change from previous year, by client type, 1998–2007 61
Table A2: Gambling Helpline Ltd: primary mode of problem gambling for gamblers, new clients, 1999–2007 61
Table A3: Gambling Helpline Ltd, primary mode of problem gambling cited by significant others, new clients, 1999–2007 61
Table A4: Face-to-face intervention services: primary mode of problem gambling for gamblers, new full clients, 1997–2007 62
Table A5: Face-to-face intervention services: primary mode of problem gambling for gamblers, all full clients, 1997–2007 62
Table A6: Gambling Helpline Ltd: additional mode of problem gambling for gamblers and significant others, new clients, 1999–2007 62
Table A7: Face-to-face intervention services: additional mode of problem gambling for gamblers, new full clients, 1997–2007 63
Table A8: Gambling Helpline Ltd: origin of contacts, gambler, significant other, and interested other new clients, by territorial authority, 1999–2007 63
Table A9: Face-to-face intervention services: origin of contacts, gambler and significant other new full clients, by territorial authority, 2004–2007 65
Table A10: Face-to-face intervention services: main geographic location (clinic location), new full clients, 1999–2007 66
Table A11: Face-to-face intervention services: primary mode of problem gambling for gamblers, new full clients, by gender, 2007 67
Table A12: Gambling Helpline Ltd: ethnicity of gamblers, new clients, 1999–2007 67
Table A13: Gambling Helpline Ltd: ethnicity of significant others, new clients, 1999–2007 67
Table A14: Face-to-face intervention services: ethnicity of gamblers, new clients, 2002–2007 67
Table A15: Face-to-face intervention services: SOGS-3M summary statistics for first assessments, new full clients, 1999–2007 68
Table A16: Face-to-face intervention services: distribution of dollars lost in four weeks before first assessment, new full clients, 1999–2007 68
Table A17: Face-to-face intervention services: distribution of gambling control ratings at first assessment, new full clients, 1999–2007 68
Table A18: Face-to-face intervention services: change in dollars lost as a percentage of amount reported lost at initial assessment, reassessed full clients, 2007 68
List of Figures
Figure 1: Gambling Helpline Ltd: new clients, by type, 1998–2007 11
Figure 2: Gambling Helpline Ltd: information packs distributed to clients, 1999–2007 13
Figure 3: Face-to-face intervention services: total treatment duration, all full clients, 2007 16
Figure 4: Face-to-face intervention services: distribution of SOGS-3M scores at first assessment, new full clients, 2007 17
Figure 5: Face-to-face intervention services: distribution of dollars lost in the four weeks before first assessment, new full clients, 2007 18
Figure 6: Face-to-face intervention services: distribution of gambling control ratings at first assessment, new full clients, 2001–2007 19
Figure 7: Gambling Helpline Ltd: primary mode of problem gambling for gamblers and significant others, new clients, 2007 21
Figure 8: Gambling Helpline Ltd: primary mode of problem gambling cited by gamblers, new clients, 2007 22
Figure 9: Gambling Helpline Ltd: primary mode of problem gambling cited by significant others, new clients, 2007 23
Figure 10: Face-to-face intervention services: primary mode of problem gambling for gamblers, new full clients, 2007 24
Figure 11: Gambling Helpline Ltd: additional mode of problem gambling for gamblers and significant others, new full clients, 2007 26
Figure 12: Face-to-face intervention services: additional mode of problem gambling for gamblers, new full clients, 2007 27
Figure 13: Face-to-face intervention services: new full clients, by main geographic location (clinic location), 2007 30
Figure 14: Gambling Helpline Ltd: gamblers, new clients, by gender, 1999–2007 31
Figure 15: Gambling Helpline Ltd: significant others, new clients, by gender, 1999–2007 31
Figure 16: Face-to-face intervention services: gamblers, new full clients, by gender, 1997–2007 32
Figure 17: Face-to-face intervention services: significant others, new full clients, by gender, 1997–2007 33
Figure 18: Face-to-face intervention services: primary mode of problem gambling for gamblers, new full clients, by gender, 2007 34
Figure 19: Face-to-face intervention services: dollars lost in four weeks before first assessment, new full clients, by gender, 2007 35
Figure 20: Gambling Helpline Ltd: age distribution of gamblers, new clients, 2006 and 2007 36
Figure 21: Gambling Helpline Ltd: age distribution of significant others, new clients, 2006 and 2007 37
Figure 22: Face-to-face intervention services: age distribution of gamblers, new full clients, 2006 and 2007 38
Figure 23: Face-to-face intervention services: age distribution of significant others, new full clients, 2006 and 2007 38
Figure 24: Gambling Helpline Ltd: ethnicity of gamblers, new clients, 2002–2007 41
Figure 25: Gambling Helpline Ltd: ethnicity of significant others, new clients, 2002–2007 42
Figure 26: Face-to-face intervention services: ethnicity of gamblers, new full clients, 2002–2007 43
Figure 27: Face-to-face intervention services: ethnicity of significant others, new full clients, 2002–2007 44
Figure 28: Face-to-face intervention services: primary mode of gambling for gamblers, new full clients, by ethnicity, 2007 45
Figure 29: Face-to-face intervention services: dollars lost in four weeks before first assessment, new full clients, by ethnicity, 2007 46
Figure 30: Gambling Helpline Ltd: suicidal behaviour, new gamblers and significant others, 2002–2007 48
Figure 31: Face-to-face intervention services: change in SOGS-3M scores, reassessed full clients, 2007 52
Figure 32: Face-to-face intervention services, SOGS-3M scores at initial assessment and follow up, reassessed full clients, 2007 52
Figure 33: Face-to-face intervention services: change in dollars lost as a percentage of the original loss, reassessed full clients, 2007 53
Figure 34: Face-to-face intervention services: change in control over gambling, reassessed full clients, by level of control, 2007 54
Figure 35: Face-to-face intervention services: change in control over gambling, reassessed full clients, by rating, 2007 54
Figure 36: Face-to-face intervention services: change in SOGS-3M score, reassessed full clients, by degree of treatment completion, 2002–2007 55
Figure 37: Face-to-face intervention services: change in dollars lost as proportion of original loss, reassessed full clients, by degree of treatment completion, 2002–2007 56
Figure 38: Face-to-face intervention services: change in sense of control, reassessed full clients, by degree of treatment completion, 2002–2007 57
Figure 39: Face-to-face intervention services: change in SOGS-3M scores, reassessed full clients, by gender, 2002–2007 57
Figure 40: Face-to-face intervention services: change in dollars lost as proportion of original loss, reassessed full clients, by gender, 2002–2007 58
Figure 41: Face-to-face intervention services: change in SOGS-3M scores, reassessed full clients, by ethnicity, 2002–2007 59
Figure 42: Face-to-face intervention services: change in dollars lost as proportion of original loss, reassessed full clients, by ethnicity, 2002–2007 59
Figure A1: Face-to-face intervention services: change in SOGS-3M score, reassessed full clients, by degree of treatment completion, 2007 69
Figure A2: Face-to-face intervention services: change in dollars lost as proportion of original loss, reassessed full clients, by degree of treatment completion, 2007 70
Figure A3: Face-to-face intervention services: change in sense of control, reassessed full clients, by degree of treatment completion, 2007 70
Figure A4: Face-to-face intervention services: change in SOGS-3M scores, reassessed full clients, by gender, 2007 71
Figure A5: Face-to-face intervention services: change in dollars lost as proportion of original loss, reassessed full clients, by gender, 2007 72
Figure A6: Face-to-face intervention services: change in SOGS-3M scores, reassessed full clients, by ethnicity, 2007 72
Figure A7: Face-to-face intervention services: change in dollars lost as proportion of original loss, reassessed full clients, by ethnicity, 2007 73
Executive Summary
This report presents and summarises the data collected by problem gambling service providers in 2007. It provides an overview of clients seeking help via the Gambling Helpline Ltd (the Helpline) and face-to-face outpatient counselling during that period. Ongoing publication of these data allows for the identification of changes over time in the characteristics of clients seeking help for gambling issues. An indication of client progress is also presented based on data collected from face-to-face counselling services.
Please note that the data in this publication do not reflect the prevalence of problem gambling in New Zealand.