Traditional etiquette says not to discuss politics or religion at social gatherings because it causes arguments.
To this list of feather-ruffling topics, one should add the subject of gambling. While for many South Africans it is just a fun way to pass the time, gambling carries baggage.
The image of the addicted gambler springs to mind. Is this the reality or is there such as thing as responsible gambling?
“Responsible gambling originates from the concept of responsible drinking,” says Professor Don Ross, research director at the National Responsible Gambling Programme (NRGP). “Individuals can indulge in gambling but are aware of the dangers and risks and have a strong level of control. It’s about integrating gambling into a generally responsible lifestyle.”
Ross says the majority of people don’t have a gambling problem. NRGP research shows that 2.5% of the population can be described as problem gamblers and only 0.5% are pathological gamblers, which is in line with international findings.
“South Africa legalised gambling with the National Gambling Act of 1996. This covers casinos, the national lottery, horse racing and limited payment machines where the maximum is R500,” says Professor Peter Collins, executive director of the South African Responsible Gambling Foundation (SARGF).
“The legislation wasn’t intended to make people gamble more. There were already homeland casinos and an enormous illegal gambling industry which couldn’t be suppressed with normal police resources. It was better to have a regulated and taxed industry than an illegal industry that involved organised and semi-organised criminals,” he says.
Collins was part of the team involved in policy research at the time. He says it made sense for the gambling industry to look at problem gambling proactively. People who gamble can be divided into three groups.
“There is recreational gambling which, for most people, is like social drinking,” says Collins. “There is also the fully fledged addict. Then there are people who sit in the middle who have problems with gambling without being addicts.”
Collins explains addiction as a neurophysiological condition where control mechanisms in the brain break down and dispose the individual to excess and repetition. “However, the brain malfunctioning does not explain the intermittent people,” says Collins.
A disproportionate number of people, usually unemployed and more men than women, engage in informal gambling. This includes cards, dice and fafi. Collins says this group accounts for almost half the number of problem gamblers.
“They fall within the informal sector in a set of circumstances that confront a lot of people in South Africa — living hand to mouth or borrowing from their families,” says Collins. “Everyone involved in alleviating problem gambling needs to be getting the message across to these communities.”
Collins says the focus should now be on illegal gambling, which includes online gambling. While it is illegal for South Africans to gamble on the internet and for companies to offer or promote it, this does not stop people setting up online gambling operations in other countries. Not all gambling is equal. There are aspects to certain types of gambling that increase the risk of addiction and problem gambling.
Collins says this usually occurs when there is a higher stake or prize, rapid or continuous action (such as slot machines and roulette) and a higher frequency of prizes. It is also particularly risky to make gambling very convenient so that people are likely to gamble on impulse.
He notes that one of the most important safety measures is to ensure that people understand what they are doing: “Informed consumer choice needs to be balanced with consumer protection where practices are fair, consumers aren’t cheated and have all the relevant knowledge so they understand they are paying for entertainment and the house has the advantage. Consumers also need to recognise the symptoms of -problem gambling.”
Gambling addiction, according to Ross, is a minor public health problem whereas gambling outside of the budget is a much bigger social problem. “It’s a particular problem with lower socioeconomic groups as they have smaller budgets and it’s easier to do harm,” he says.
Ross says: “Humans are complicated and behaviour is controlled by a huge network of factors, so it’s hard to design a-programme that has traction.” A recent research project commissioned by the Gambling Review Commission looks at what impact the legalisation of gambling has had on South Africa.
“It includes economic and social impacts, as well as issues like the demand to legalise new forms of gambling, for example online gambling and dog racing,” says Dr Stephen Louw, a researcher based at the University of the Witwatersrand and part of the research team. The research report is not publicly-available yet.
Louw says it’s difficult to benchmark the level of problem gambling against other countries because of South Africa’s dual economy. He notes that there is no evidence of a major problem or anything to suggest that problem gambling has worsened significantly.
Illegal gambling, particularly in some provinces which lack the will or the capacity to take effective action, is a major and growing concern. Research findings on the prevalence of problem gambling, published by the SARGF in late 2008, showed that problem gambling numbers have remained stable in the past three years at between 3% and 4.7%.
According to the 2008 survey, 57% of the South African adult urban population engage in some form of gambling. Whereas 12% of the population gamble in regulated casinos, 19% of the population gamble in informal venues. But is enough being done to assist problem gamblers?
“South Africa is on a par with the rest of the English-speaking world,” says Collins. “In fact, problem gambling is hardly addressed in Europe or Asia and not as extensively or effectively in the United Kingdom. “Here, the public sector and industry work collaboratively. The NRGP is the only organisation worldwide that is jointly managed between the public sector and industry.”
Raj Govender, director of Gamhelp, which offers one-to-one and family counselling, as well as daytime support for gambling addicts, does not think enough is being done — especially when it comes to enforcing rules. “If you ban people from casinos, they shouldn’t be allowed back. The system needs to be more effective,” says Govender.
“Someone with a small salary should be prevented from gambling with large amounts of money.” Govender believes there are too many gambling operations and that gambling should not be allowed to operate 24 hours a day.
“Problem gambling is a mental health problem associated with an industry that generates large profits. In a sense there is never enough done in terms of education, research and with people who fall through the cracks.”
The NRGP focuses on preventing the development of problems associated with gambling and helping problem gamblers. Funding predominantly comes from voluntary industry contributions and comprises 0.1% of the industry’s gross gambling-revenue.
“The 24-hour tollfree hotline (0800 006 008) has trained counsellors who refer people for help,” says Collins. Multilingual treatment involves a number of free sessions through a national network of 70 treatment professionals and, in certain cases, in-patient treatment.
Collins says results show that if people seek treatment and go through the programme, 80% report they are problem free. “Unfortunately, there are lots of problem gamblers that don’t seek help, which is true of all addicts. There is no prospect of getting well unless the person wants to.”
The NRGP is changing its treatment programme to address, among other things, co-morbid diagnoses. This refers to associated psychiatric or psychological problems that occur in a significant portion of pathological gamblers.
“The goal is to identify and change cognitive distortions that maintain gambling as well as behaviour patterns that trigger gambling,” says Dr Adele Pretorius, NRGP treatment director. “We have partnered with UCT’s department of psychiatry to include structured diagnostic interviews and we also sponsor the first fellowship in pathological gambling in Africa.”