Nearly a quarter of adults in Aotearoa who initially reduce engagement in risky gambling behaviours at any level experience a relapse and return to gambling at a risky level, according to new AUT research funded by the Ministry of Health.

That means one in four gamblers who recover from harmful gambling slip back into excessive gambling.

Associate Professor Maria Bellringer, director of the Gambling and Addictions Research Centre at AUT, says gambling relapse has not been well studied in New Zealand, but the new insights give some useful data.

“Our analysis of previously collected data for the National Gambling Study from 2012 to 2020 shows the prevalence of gambling relapse amongst any level of risky gamblers in New Zealand is relatively high at 24%,” says Bellringer.

“This has implications for treatment, policy and public health approaches to reduce and prevent gamblers from relapsing into risky behaviours.

“Gambling providers should also ensure that the products they offer are provided safely to prevent risk of relapse.”

The measure of relapse used in this study was a decrease in Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) risk level category to a lower category followed by a subsequent increase to a higher category. The PGSI is a widely used measure of gambling risk in surveys and clinical settings.

Although most risky gamblers (70.3%) appeared to ‘recover’ by decreasing their PGSI risk level and maintaining the decrease, 5.7% of risky gamblers remained at risk over the eight years of the study, in addition to the 24% who relapsed.

Bellringer says there were indications ethnicity was associated with risk of relapse, particularly for Pacific peoples, in comparison with European/Other ethnicities. However, she strongly cautions that “further research is urgently required to understand the factors for why this might be, and whether this applies to all, or only some, Pacific ethnicities.”

The new research shows the strongest predictor for relapse was being identified as a previous problem/pathological gambler.

Bellringer says future research should explore the interplay between individual, social and environmental factors in gambling relapse.

“This will help refine and develop policies and interventions to better support those at risk,” she concludes.

Note:

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