It Makes a Difference
What You Bet On
 It
may surprise you to know that, in general, problem gamblers focus
on a single form of gambling. This is called their problem form
of gambling, because they have lost control over it. In fact,
compulsive gamblers who will "bet on anything" are rare.
This is important for many reasons.
One important factor is convenience, access and availability,
says Bob Breen, PhD, director of the Rhode
Island Gambling Treatment Program at Rhode Island Hospital.
"If you are addicted to scratch tickets or Keno (about five
to ten percent of our patients are), it will be more difficult
to avoid the triggers associated with these forms of gambling.
You will see them in bars, restaurants, bowling alleys, stores,
gas stations, newsstands, etc. If you are addicted to video slots,
it may be easier for you to avoid those locations (such as Lincoln
Park or Newport Jai Alai). If your problem is casino blackjack,
you have to travel to one of the Connecticut casinos, which are
somewhat farther for most Rhode Islanders."
Another important factor is the speed and continuity of different
forms of gambling. The most addictive form of gambling is video
slots because these computerized games are rapid, hypnotic, isolating
and are programmed to keep people glued to the screen.
In 2002, Breen and his colleagues published an important study
in The Journal of Gambling Studies, a scientific, peer-reviewed
journal.1 The study compared
problem gamblers who primarily played video gambling machines
with those who played the other forms of gambling (such as cards,
dice, horses and dogs, or sports betting). The results showed
that it took an average of one year to become addicted to video
machines, compared to three and a half years for those who gambled
on other things. The researchers recently replicated the results
of the 2002 study. The study
sampled a much larger group.
"In other words, we have scientific evidence that video
gambling is the most addictive form of gambling available,"
he says.
Learn more about these research
studies 
1Breen,
R.B. & Zimmerman, M. (2002). Rapid onset of pathological
gambling in machine gamblers. Journal of Gambling Studies,
18, 1.
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