Aging/ Older Adult Research Data Summary

Research and Data

Overview

Aging and Older Adult Gambling Data

Here, you’ll find a summary of problem gambling research data specific to Aging and Older Adults from our Resource Library. For more information click research citation links.

For quick reference, data topic categories on this webpage include:

 

 

General Older Adult Gambling Data

2019

  • 80% of older gamblers are looking for entertainment and enjoyment (Morgane, 2019).
  • 38% of older gamblers are looking to distract themselves from everyday problems, and combat boredom and loneliness (Morgane, 2019).
  • 39%–45% of all casino users are over age 65 (Morgane, 2019).
    • 55 year olds struggling with problem gambling tend to play continuous or limitless games such as slot machines, online games or even scratch games.
      • (Those without a gambling problem tend to play discontinuous, inexpensive and time-limited games such as lotteries)
    • Lack of resources to cover the damaging level of gambling expenditure appears to be specific to older adults (Morgane, 2019).

2011

  • 62% of 71+ year-old respondents have gambled (Welte, 2011).

 

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Older Adult Asian Communities Data

2022

  •  Interviewees noted many of them come from cultures that prioritize extended family, such as elderly playing an important role as caretakers of the younger generation. In modern American society, this important role is lost, leading many elderly to gambling to fill his void (Colby et al, 2022).
  • Some community elders will visit casinos to drink morning tea everyday to chat with friends. They also find the casino environment is good for walking, being warm in winter and cool in summer (Colby et al, 2022).
  • Elders in particular can be hard hit by gambling addiction because of their linguistic and social isolation (Colby et al, 2022).
*View Asian American data summary*
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Older Adult Co-Occurring SUD Data

2019

  • Older adults with alcohol use disorder or tobacco use disorder, whose general health is impaired, may seek relaxation or excitement from readily available gambling opportunities (though the practice of gambling is in itself a stress factor) (Morgane, 2019).
  • Individuals over 65 years of age struggling with problem gambling have significantly increased risk of alcohol use disorder and were more frequently tobacco dependent (Morgane, 2019).
  • Life-long problem gambling was associated with(Morgane, 2019):
    • Substance use disorders (alcohol, illicit substances),
    • Psychiatric disorders: mood disorders (depression, dysthymia, mania, hypomania), and
    • Anxiety disorders or avoidant personality disorder.
*View Co-Occurring SUD data summary*
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Older Adult Gender Data

2019

  • Women over the age of 60 have a risk of problem gambling that is equivalent to, or even higher than, that of men in the same age group (Morgane, 2019).
  • The prevalence of at-risk or problem gamblers is high among women over 65 years of age (Morgane, 2019).
  • Retired women over the age of 75 are targeted gamblers most susceptible to gambling marketing (particularly to electronic games machines) (Morgane, 2019).

 

*View Gender Comparison data summary*
*View Women data summary*
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Older Adult Marketing Data

2019

  • Casinos aggressively direct marketing towards older adults offering discounts on meals, free drinks, guarantees to win and, sometimes, medication discount coupons (Morgane, 2019).
  • Gambling offers and availability reinforce gambling motivation and cognitive distortions in older people (Morgane, 2019).
  • Older women seem to be more vulnerable to gambling marketing strategies (Morgane, 2019).

 

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Older Adult Sports Betting Data

2021

  • 8% of individuals age 65 to 74 bet on sports in the past year (NCPG, 2021).
  • 3% of individuals age 75 and older bet on sports in the past year (NCPG, 2021).

 

*View Sports Betting data summary*
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Aging/ Older Adults Women Data

2019

  • Women over the age of 60 have a risk of problem gambling that is equivalent to, or even higher than, that of men in the same age group (Morgane, 2019).
  • The prevalence of at-risk or problem gamblers is high among women over 65 years of age (Morgane, 2019).
  • Retired women over the age of 75 are targeted gamblers most susceptible to gambling marketing (particularly to electronic games machines) (Morgane, 2019).

 

*View Women data summary*
*View Gender Comparison data summary*
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Older Adult Risk Factors Data

Social Factors
Loss Factors
Financial Fafctors
Medical Factors
Co-Occurring Factors

 

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Older Adult Protective Factors

 

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Researched Recommendations

  • Raise awareness of intrusive marketing campaigns that target vulnerable, elderly people (Morgane, 2019).
  • Identify and require action, beyond medical care, to help gamblers to control or to stop their problem gambling (Morgane, 2019).
  • Implement the acronym “CASINO” to help everyone to remember the impact and factors linked to disordered gambling in older adults (Morgane, 2019):
    • Chronic health problems,
    • Affective disorders,
    • Serious risk of suicide,
    • Incarceration, and
    • NO money (credit card debts, and financial problems).

 

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Citation

National Council on Problem Gambling. (2021). National Detail Report National Survey on gambling attitudes and … http://www.ncpgsurvey.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/NCPG_NGAGE-Natl_Detailed_Report-Public.pdf (Link to Research)

2020 New York State Problem Gambling Prevalence Survey Final Report. New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services. 2021. (Link to Research)

Mazar, A., Williams, R.J., Stanek, E.J. et al. The importance of friends and family to recreational gambling, at-risk gambling, and problem gambling. BMC Public Health 18, 1080 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5988-2

Guillou Landreat M, Cholet J, Grall Bronnec M, Lalande S and Le Reste JY (2019) Determinants of Gambling Disorders in Elderly People—A Systematic Review. Front. Psychiatry 10:837. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00837. (Link to Research)

Welte JW, Barnes GM, Tidwell MC, Hoffman JH. Gambling and problem gambling across the lifespan. J Gambl Stud. 2011 Mar;27(1):49-61. doi: 10.1007/s10899-010-9195-z. PMID: 20499144; PMCID: PMC4383132. (Link to Research)

Further Reading

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