On the other hand, Hing and coworkers reported lower rates of psychological distress among online gamblers than among land-based gamblers ( 16). Gainsbury argued that poor health and substance use may be more common in online gamblers ( 13). In recent years, there is an increasing attention to psychiatric comorbidities in gambling patients with or without treatment ( 16), and data are mixed as to whether rates of psychiatric comorbidity in online gamblers are higher or lower ( 7, 13, 16, 17).

Also, it has been suggested that individuals engaging in problem gambling online may be less likely to seek treatment than problems users of land-based gambling modalities ( 13), and the proportion of online gamblers among treatment-seeking gamblers has been reported to be low ( 16). However, this is not a consistent finding ( 13), and other data indicate that online gamblers may be less likely to be categorized as problem gamblers ( 15). Online gambling could potentially be associated with a higher risk of problem gambling, expressed as symptom criteria of pathological gambling, compared to more traditional, land-based gambling ( 11– 14). This trend has called for action in gambling prevention and treatment by policy makers ( 10). At the same time, Sweden is seeing a vast increase in media advertisements of primarily online gambling and online sports betting, and an increased market share of overseas online gambling operators. National policies for allocation of gambling treatment have been lacking, and few regions have established actual structured treatment for problem gambling, such that in many settings throughout the country, no actual treatment has been available ( 9). Sweden, in contrast to extensive epidemiological studies of gambling in the population ( 7, 8), is an example of a setting where no national strategy for gambling treatment hitherto has been established. In addition to individual factors complicating treatment-seeking, structural and organizational issues also may constitute barriers to treatment for individuals with problem gambling ( 6), and clearly, widespread availability is crucial to treatment coverage. For example, it has been suggested that in individuals with pathological gambling, treatment-seeking may-paradoxically-be inversely associated with gambling severity ( 5). Despite documented knowledge about effective treatment for the disorder ( 4), several potential barriers may limit treatment-seeking behavior in gambling patients. Pathological gambling is a condition affecting roughly 0.5% of the adult population ( 1, 2), and up to 3–5% of adults are reported to suffer from past-year problem gambling with or without fulfilment of diagnostic criteria ( 3). High rates of comorbidity call for structured psychiatric assessment in problem gambling, with a particular focus on female patients with pathological gambling. Non-substance-related psychiatric comorbidity was significantly associated with female gender.Ĭonclusion: Online gambling is more clearly predominating in this setting than in studies from other countries. Problematic gambling on online casino and online sports betting represented 84% of patients. Results: Eighty percent were men, and 58% received a psychiatric disorder apart from pathological gambling. Methods: All patients undergoing structured assessment between January 2016 and April 2017 were included ( N = 106), and patient records were reviewed for cooccurring psychiatric disorders and types of problem games.

This study aimed to address patient characteristics in a novel health care-based treatment modality for pathological gambling, including potential associations between gambling types, psychiatric comorbidity, and gender. 2Malmö Addiction Center, Clinical Research Unit/Gambling Disorder Unit, Skane Region, Malmö, Swedenīackground: Few studies have assessed treatment-seeking behavior and patient characteristics in pathological gambling focusing on psychiatric comorbidity, particularly in a setting of heavy exposure to online gambling.1Psychiatry, Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.

Pathological gambling center