3. Dr. Irwin M. Cohen and Ms. Jennifer Keim
Senior Researcher, University of the Fraser Valley
General Counsel, BCLC

4. Experiences with BCLC’s Voluntary
Self-Exclusion Program
Dr. Irwin Cohen
Amanda McCormick, PhD (ABD)

5. https://www.gaming.gov.bc.ca/reports/docs/rpt-bclc-self-exclusion-program.pdf

6. Time One Recruitment
472 Consent Forms Received Between June 6, 2013 and
March 24, 2014
19% of VSE Enrollers Consented to Participate in the Study
326 People or 69% of those who Originally Consented
Completed an Interview

7. Characteristic Study 1 (n = 161) Study 2 (n = 326)
Female 58% 53%
Ethnicity
Caucasian 77% 75%
Asian 8% 10%
Aboriginal 12% 6%
South Asian 1% 5%
Other 3% 5%
Age 46 years (19 - 77) 48 years (19 - 88)
English 96% 88%
Geographical Region
Lower Mainland 41% 45%
Interior 47% 39%
Island 10% 16%

8. Characteristic Study 1 (n = 161) Study 2 (n = 326)
Marital Status
Single 34% 38%
Married 34% 35%
Common Law 10% 12%
Employed 76% 71%
Income
Less Than $20,000 23% 22%
$20,000 - $49,999 45% 47%
More Than $50,000 25% 25%
Education
At least Some College - 29%

9. PREVIOUS GAMBLING HISTORY

10. Past Year Gambling Frequency
1%
10%
50%
14%
17%
3% 5%

11. Forms of Past Year Gambling
80%
72%
28%
11% 9% 7% 7% 5% 4%

12. Past Year Gambling
Land-Based Online
Average Range Average Range
# of Different Venues 3 0-15 - -
Amount at Risk $569 $25 - $10,000 $318 $2 - $5,000
Time Spent 250m 30m - 1440m 155m 10m - 660m
Amount Lost $1,569 $30 -$85,000 $1260 $2 - $30,000

13. Reasons for Gambling
Used to Gamble … %
Because it was Fun / Exciting 89%
Because of Boredom 80%
To Escape Uncomfortable Feelings 58%
Because One Big Win Would Solve Money Problems 58%
For an Opportunity to Socialize 46%
To Escape Family Problems 42%
To Escape Financial Problems 38%
To Escape Work Problems 25%
To Escape Health Problems 21%

14. Gambling Severity (n = 326)
3% 3%
21%
74%
No Problem Low Level ProblemsModerate Problems Problem Gambling

15. Previous Attempts to Quit
Form of Support %
Self-Control 75%
Previous VSE 72%
Talk to Friend/Family 54%
PG Counselor 26%
Online Information / Resources 16%
Gambler’s Anonymous 15%
Problem Gambling Helpline 13%
Game Sense Advisor 13%
Other 5%
Gametalk 2%

16. VSE ENROLLMENT

17. Gap Between VSE Program Awareness and
Enrollment
15%
20%
65%
Immediately Before Enrolling Between 1m-1y of Enrolling > 1 Year Before Enrolling

18. Source of VSE Awareness
78%
39%
33%
19% 17%
13% 12% 12% 9% 9% 7% 6%

19. Length of Enrollment and Satisfaction
with Enrollment Length
31% 29%
7%
33%
92% 89%
100%
84%
6 months 1 year 2 years 3 years
Current Length Satisfaction

20. Rating of Enrollment Experience
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Security Alone Security w/GSA GSA

21. COUNSELLING

22. Consent to Counselling
2% 2%
11%
85%
2% 3%
24%
71%
No Problem Low Level ProblemsModerate Problems Problem Gambling
Consent No Consent

23. Reasons for Accessing Counselling
(n = 96)
90%
65%
55%
15% 13% 9%

24. Reasons for Avoiding Counselling
84%
37% 35%
29%
21% 19% 17%
9% 7% 7% 3%

25. Reasons for No Counselling x PGSI
No Problem Low/Mod Problem
Wanted to Deal with it Myself 60% 86% 83%
Didn’t Think it Could Help 20% 18% 42%
Don’t Think I have a Problem 60% 51% 32%
Didn’t have Time for it 40% 19% 32%
Didn’t Want Others to Know 0% 16% 24%
Too Ashamed to Talk to Anyone 0% 13% 22%
Thought Others Would Make Fun 0% 8% 9%
Didn’t Think They’d Speak My Language 20% 6% 6%
Couldn’t Afford It 0% 10% 6%
Didn’t Know It was Available 0% 2% 3%

26. Lack of Awareness of Counselling Options
63%
58%
46%
42%
35% 34%
25%
19%
Online Meet at
Location I
Choose
Change
Counsellor
Other
Areas
Meet at
Time I
Choose
Multiple
Forms
Speak
Multiple
Languages
Free

27. Supports Post VSE
%
Problem Gambling Counselling 15%
Mental Health Treatment 5%
Gambler’s Anonymous 3%
Financial Counselling 3%
Other Counselling 3%
Substance Use Treatment 3%
Other Support Groups 3%
Game Sense Advisors 2%
Marital Counselling 2%
Online Supports 1%
Problem Gambling Helpline 1%

28. TIME 2 INTERVIEWS
6 Months Later…

29. 83%

30. Current Enrollment Status
72% Still Under Previous Enrollment Agreement
11% of Those Expired Re-Enrolled by Time 2
Majority of Re-Enrollers Had Already Begun Gambling and Fears
Were Resurfacing
Majority of Non-Re-enrollers Wanted to Gamble Again,
Thought They Had Developed Better Self-Control, and Wanted
to Manage Their Gambling On Their Own

31. Gambling In Last 6 Months, Since Exclusion (n =
270)
%
No Gambling (Abstinent) 13%
Only Lotto 27%
Any Gambling Except Lotto 60%

32. Violation Attempts in Past 6 Months
23% 15%

33. Agreement Violators (n = 40)
On average, attempted to re-enter casino 11 times
Nearly all (97%) reported successfully re-entering on at least one attempt
67% went to different casino
46% were caught in past 6 months

34. Reasons for Violating
80%
74%
69%
62%
46%
41%
31%
18%
Urge to
Gamble
Bored No
Penalty
No
Detection
Felt Lucky Depressed
/ Anxious
Needed
Money
Under
Influence

35. Profile of Agreement Violators
Marital Status Differed
• Violators More Likely Single (53% vs 35%) or Common Law
(20% vs 9%)
• Non-Violators More Likely Married (40% vs 20%) or
Divorced (10% vs 5%)
PGSI Scores
• No Difference on PGSI Total at Time 1 (Violators X = 13.4,
Non-Violators X = 11.9)
• Significant Difference on PGSI Total at Time 2 (Violators X
= 9.8, Non-Violators X = 3.1)

36. Percent of PGSI Group who Violated
(n = 270)
7% 6%
15%
45%
No Problem Low Level Moderate Problem Gambling

37. Time 2 PGSI Scores Among Violators (n
= 40)
10%
13%
33%
45%
No Problem Low Level Moderate Problem Gambling

38. Non-Violators
90% 90%
59% 57% 56% 55% 51% 49% 46%

39. Counselling Access Past 6 Months
Significantly Higher PGSI at Time 1 (16.5 vs 11.3 of those
not accessing)
Non-Significantly Higher PGSI at Time 2 (6.3 versus 3.7)
22.5% of Violators versus 14% Non-Violators

40. 93%

41. Incorrect Program Assumptions
Purpose of VSE is to Help me Take Time Out
• 14% Disagreed
VSE Purpose is to Completely Stop Me from Gambling
• 44% Agreed
I Will be Paid for Any Jackpots I Win While Excluded
• 8% Agreed
If I Lose in a Casino While Excluded, I Won’t Need to Pay For My Losses
• 5% Agreed
I Can Re-Enroll Post-Exclusion
• 1% Disagreed
Information I Gave During Enrollment is ONLY Shared with That Casino
• 3% Agreed

42. Going Forward….
Conclude All Time 3 Interviews
Analyze Qualitative Interviews with Sub-Sample of Violators
Obtain An Overall Profile of VSE Enrollers over Time 1 Recruitment Period
Conduct a survey with Non-VSE Casino Patrons
Provide Recommendations for Program Enhancement

43. Centre for Public Safety and Criminal Justice Research

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