Gambling Related Crimes

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The review provided evidence that gambling-related crime typically consists of non-violent, income-generating offences. However, it also revealed that problem gamblers may commit violent crimes at a higher than expected rate, which may have been concealed by deliberate and unintentional under-reporting of gambling-related crimes.

  • Scherer may have been a talented player, but his $350,000 dollars in poker earnings didn’t make up for the phenomenal amount of debt he’d managed to acquire over the years. With $90,000 in gambling debt, $40,000 in credit card debt and a $616,000 loan from his father for a new house – Scherer was under a lot of financial pressure.
  • The excellent ‘Gambling Reform and Society Perception (GRASP)’ group have updated their forum pages on gambling related crime. It now runs to 10s and 10s of pages, but the government chooses to let the industry expand unfettered (click on green text). CG’s jailed for fraud and theft news!! NEVER ENDING Source: CG’s jailed for fraud.
  • Money laundering was another way in which organized crime was forced to get far more organized. When gambling was legalized in Nevada in 1931, loads of Prohibition-era mob money was funneled into.
  • In summary, three connections have been identified; an ‘instrumental link’ where crime facilitates gambling (such as stealing to pay off gambling debt), a ‘co-symptomatic’ relationship whereby a mediating factor may increase the probability of both offending and gambling (such as alcohol or substance use) and, finally, a ‘coincidental’ connection where crime and gambling are not directly related but merely participated in by the same people (Lahn and Grabosky 2003, p.

A dearth of knowledge about the links between crime and problem gambling is putting more people at risk of harm, according to a new report from the Howard League for Penal Reform.

The UK charitable organisation, which works towards reducing crime, building safer communities and lowering the number of people in prison, said that its Commission on Crime and Problem Gambling identified a number of issues in a recent study.

A Commission-led literature review found while millions of people around the world are affected by gambling, there were less than 50 peer-reviewed papers in the last 25 years that specifically addressed the links between problem gambling and crime.

The review covered a number of key jurisdictions including the UK, US, Canada, Germany, Scandinavia, Germany and Australasia, with researchers identifying a high prevalence rates of people committing crimes to fund their gambling.

One of the major areas of concern, according to the Commission, was that this crime was not only classed ‘white collar’ such as theft and fraud, but also offences that occur in in public spaces such as street robberies, as well as domestic abuse and child neglect linked to problem and pathological gambling.

The Commission said though there was a growing understanding that gambling addiction is a behavioural disorder, only parts of this had been recorded. It also said problem gambling has not been considered a mitigating factor in sentencing in the same way mental health problems or drug and alcohol addiction are.

The review also suggested there was a lack of support for prisoners in terms of treating their problem gambling, with evidence to suggest a level of resistance to undertake such treatment among prisoners.

Some of the reports reviewed also suggested that a custodial sentence was not a cost-effective way of avoiding further harm to the individual or society once completed.

In addition, the Commission acknowledged that a small number of specialised gambling courts had been established in the US to help people with gambling addictions access the appropriate treatment. However, there was limited data on the success of these initiatives.

As such, the Commission concluded that further research its required in order to establish the potential effect of gambling addiction treatment on the rate of recidivism. It urged further research on how best to help vulnerable populations avoid the criminal justice system.

Looking ahead, the Howard League now plans to conduct its own research, in three strands. The first project will look at the prevalence of gambling-related crime, while the second will focus on consider the experience of people caught up in the system, and the third sentencers’ awareness of the issue

Lord Goldsmith QC will oversee this new research as chair of the Commission, with the overall aim of establishing the links between problem gambling and crime, as well as the impact they have on communities and wider society, and what steps could be taken to reduce crime and protect people.

“Concern about harmful gambling activity has been growing for some time, but this is the first commission to focus specifically on the relationship between problem gambling and crime,” Lord Goldsmith said.

“The criminal justice system itself does very little work to capture the scale of the challenge and even less in terms of offering interventions like those we see for alcohol or drug problems. This has to change and our Commission can play a key role in improving the response to disordered gambling and crime.”

Last updated: 08/5/2019
Author: Addictions.com Medical Review

Reading Time: 3minutes

Even without the physical triggers so commonly associated with drug addiction, gambling disorders can wreak just as much havoc in a person’s life. While drug addiction works as a substance-based disorder, gambling addictions have more to do with a lack of impulse control.

Gambling addiction often affects people who also struggle with alcohol abuse.

Ultimately, it’s the loss of control that defines addictive behavior regardless of the substance or activity involved. Gambling addiction statistics present this “loss of control” factor in a stark and alarming light.

Gambling addiction statistics show how problem gambling can up-end a person’s life in more ways than one. Not unlike other types of addiction, people most susceptible to gambling also suffer from other disorders of which they may or may not be aware.

Probably the most glaring revelation to be had from gambling addiction statistics lies in the consequences that result when gambling disorders go untreated.

1. Gambling Trends

As with all types of data, certain trends or patterns of behavior start to surface within a given population. Gambling addiction statistics are no different. Some of the more prevalent gambling trends show:

  • The likelihood of developing a gambling addiction increases 23-fold for people affected by alcohol use disorders
  • Over 80 percent of American adults gamble on a yearly basis
  • Three to five gamblers out of every hundred struggles with a gambling problem
  • As many as 750,000 young people, ages 14 to 21 have a gambling addiction

2. Gambling & Criminal Activity

As far as gambling and criminal activity goes, gambling addiction statistics reveal a direct correlation between the severity of a gambling addiction and the likelihood of committing crimes. Rates of gambling addiction for criminal offenders far exceed rates found among non-offenders. On average, an estimated 50 percent of those affected by gambling problems commit crimes in order to support their addiction.

3. College Gambling

Gambling addiction statistics show people between the ages 20 and 30 have the highest rates of problem gambling.

  • 75 percent of college students report having gambled during the past year
  • The risk of developing a gambling addiction more than doubles for young adults in college settings
  • An estimated six percent of American college students struggle with gambling problems

4. Gambling & PTSD Trends

People affected by post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD live with high levels of stress and anxiety on a daily basis. Gambling addiction statistics show high rates of gambling addiction among PTSD sufferers.

  • PTSD symptoms affect anywhere from 12.5 to 29 percent of problem gamblers
  • 34 percent of those who seek treatment for gambling addiction exhibit symptoms of PTSD
Gambling Related Crimes

5. Gambling & Mental Illness

As addictions, in general, alter brain chemical functions in destructive ways, people struggling with gambling addiction have a higher likelihood of developing mental disorders. Gambling addiction statistics show a high incidence of certain types of mental illness, some of which include:

  • Depression disorders
  • Anxiety disorders
  • Substance abuse disorders
  • Anti-social personality disorder

As with any other type of addiction, a gambling addiction can only get worse when left untreated.