Video gaming machine players become addicts far quicker than those who play scratch tickets, poker and other forms of gambling, Robert Breen, director of a gambling treatment program in Rhode Island, told New Hampshire lawmakers yesterday.

"Anecdotally, I had heard from many patients, going back to 1996 or so, a story that was similar: 'I never gambled much . . . and then they put slots at the race track. And here I am in your office a year later, the kid's college fund is gone, my IRA is gone, my house has three mortgages,' " Breen said, describing his clients.

Breen's comments came amid a push to legalize video slot machines in New Hampshire, an effort that could gain traction as lawmakers search for ways to pay for education. Yesterday, the Granite State Coalition Against Expanded Gambling held an information session for lawmakers about the issue. The forum was wide-ranging, with Breen, Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, a Massachusetts lawmaker and others describing what they said would be the downsides of slots.

New Hampshire already allows several forms of gambling, including lottery tickets and charitable gaming, which includes Texas Hold 'em poker games hosted by nonprofits. But if Breen's experience with gambling addicts is any indication, video gaming machines (slot machines, video poker and other games) are the most pernicious.

Interviewing 44 of his patients, all of them adult compulsive gamblers, Breen discovered that video gaming machines were by far the most addictive: On average, such users became addicted in about one year, while those hooked on other forms of gambling turned into compulsive gamblers after about three and a half years.

Breen later repeated the study, this time using 180 compulsive gamblers. His findings, which he published in 2004, were similar: On average, video gaming players grew addicted after about one year, while those who started out gambling on other games became compulsive after about four years. Breen, a clinical psychologist by training, has directed the Rhode Island Gambling Treatment Program at Rhode Island Hospital for six years. In that time, the program has treated almost 1,000 addicts, nearly 70 percent of whom are addicted to video gambling machines.

It is unclear how video slot machines could be so addictive. But Breen has several hunches. Most important is the speed of the game: "It's nothing for a player of a video slot machine to push that button once every three seconds, betting in many cases up to $10 every three seconds," Breen said.

And unlike other forms of gambling, such as poker, slot machines require no prior knowledge. "Anybody can push a button. Anybody can put $20 in the machines. Elderly people or people on their 21st birthday are unintimidated to walk in and sit down and start playing one of these things," he said.

The machine's design contributes to its draw. "It's very, very simple to program a machine to show somebody lots of potential winning combinations, but they're just not quite lined up," Breen said. "And so losing on that push of the slot machine can be just as exciting physiologically, brain-chemistry-wise, as an actual jackpot."

According to a 1998 Nova Scotia study, about 16 percent of video gambling players were so-called problem gamblers, which meant that they spent too much time or money playing. On average, those "problem" players each spent about $9,700 annually on video gambling.

Breen's research stands out because it focuses on "the machines themselves, rather than with the characteristics of any individual gamer," said Rachel Volberg, president of Massachusetts-based Gemini Research, which conducts studies and surveys regarding gambling. One remaining question, however, is whether the addiction to video gambling is as severe or lasts as long as addictions to other forms of gambling, such as horse racing, Volberg said.

Overall, Volberg said, "the thing to understand about gambling in general is that it is very politicized, and the claims and counterclaims that are made by various opponents and proponents tend to be fairly exaggerated.

"All the social impact research that I've done or I've seen done . . . everything points to the fact that neither the bad nor the good turn out to be as drastic as everyone says," she said.

------ End of article

By SARAH LIEBOWITZ

Single page