Responsible gambling strategies: Are they effective against problem gambling risk in older Ontarians?

Abstract

Despite the limited amount of research on gambling in older adults (55+ years), they are often encouraged to use responsible gambling strategies to ensure that it remains a ‘‘low-risk’’ activity. However, the effectiveness of these strategies has not been examined in this population. The purpose of this study was threefold: to document the types of responsible gambling strategies used by older Ontario residents, to examine how these strategies relate to problem gambling risk, and to assess whether there are differences in the use of responsible gambling strategies between those who are and are not at risk of problem gambling. We examined the data of 673 older adults (M = 68.7, SD =7.6) from three different studies that used the same measurement instruments to assess demographics, problem gambling risk, and responsible gambling strategies (Norris & Tindale, 2006; Thériault, 2015; Tindale & Norris, 2015). We failed to find any evidence that the use of responsible gambling strategies was related to the risk of problem gambling in older adults (as measured by the Problem Gambling Severity Index of the Canadian Problem Gambling Index and the Windsor Screen). The respondents who used these strategies did not have a lower problem gambling risk than did the respondents who did not use the strategies. Further, the number of strategies used did not vary between problem gambling risk categories. These results raise questions about the utility of strategies used for responsible gambling.