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UK survey leads to action...
Problem gambling has not increased in the UK over the last eight years, despite widespread speculation to the contrary, according to the British Gambling Prevalence Survey 2007, compiled for the Gambling Commission by the National Centre for Social Research. The survey measured the levels of problem gambling using two internationally recognised scales, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM IV) and the Canadian Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI).
The DSM IV screen found that the rates of problem gambling in the adult population was about 0.6 percent, which equates to about 284,000 adults and is the same percentage of the population that the same screen identified in 1999. The PGSI screen identified 0.5 percent of the adult population with a gambling problem, or around 236,000 adults. According to the DSM IV screen, the highest prevalence of problem gambling – in total, almost half of all incidences – was found among those who participated in spread betting (14.7 percent), fixed odds betting terminals (11.2 percent) and betting exchanges (9.8 percent). The 2007 survey builds on the first British gambling prevalence survey carried out in 1999, which was commissioned by GamCare, a UK registered charity that has become a leading authority on the provision of information, advice and practical help in addressing the social impact of gambling. A free copy of the survey is available at www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk
