Mindfulness originated from Buddhist contemplative practice 2500 years ago. Mindfulness has increasingly been integrated into a variety of health care programs to address issues such as chronic pain, mental health problems, and addictions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of teaching problem gamblers about mindfulness meditation as part of regular treatment for problem gambling. The study evaluated an 8-week mindfulness group program that included 17 clients from the Problem Gambling Institute of Ontario at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (88% male) using questionnaires that were distributed before the first group session and after the final group session. The evaluation was a mixed method design that included both qualitative and quantitative feedback about the group. All of the participants showed an improvement in their levels of mindfulness after the 8-week treatment program. The Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) scores increased from a pre-test score of 3.65 (SD = 1.01) to a post-test score of 4.40 (SD = 0.78). Qualitative feedback about the group also highlighted a number of improvements in the clients’ lives that included being more in control, relaxed and able to stay in the now. The results indicated that mindfulness was successfully taught during the 8-week group program. This study evaluated the suitability of mindfulness as an intervention as part of a problem gambling treatment service. However, the study did not evaluate whether mindfulness improved the clients’ ability to resist relapse. Future studies are needed to examine the long-term impact of mindfulness sessions.

This paper examines the prevalence of gambling and problem gambling among people of Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi cultural backgrounds living in Great Britain. Information was gathered from the last two versions of a large-scale national adult prevalence survey and a similar survey of children aged 11 to 15 years, all conducted since 2007. Together, the surveys yielded sub-samples of 589 Asian adults and 482 Asian children from a combined total of more than 16,000 adults and nearly 9,000 children. In both adult and child Asian populations, the 7-day participation rate in gambling (22% and 13%, respectively) was found to be low relative to that in the white majority community, yet problem gambling prevalence, measured by the adult Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition screen (1.4%) and its juvenile equivalent (2.9%), was significantly higher, including among women. It therefore follows that those Asians who do gamble are unusually prone to experiencing problems, which has implications for public health policies such as the provision of information and help in minority languages. The relevance of the findings seems likely to extend to other countries with significantly sized Asian communities.

This paper evaluates the impact of an awareness program for Asian casino employees. Contents of the program included the following topics: (1) Understanding the nature of casino games, and the notion of ‘randomness’ in gambling activities, (2) Examining the relationship between ‘chance’ and excessive gambling, (3) Defining ‘safe’ gambling, (4) Identifying the signs of problem gambling, (5) Deciding when and how should a casino employee offer help to problem gamblers in distress. Results indicated that the participants increased their knowledge about chance and randomness in gambling could better detect the manifestation of problem gambling, became more confident of when and how to offer help to excessive gamblers, and were convinced that responsible gambling practices would be beneficial to casinos and to patrons. The knowledge gained from the workshop was retained by participants at a follow-up undertaken after 12 months of the training. Participants’ competence in offering information and help to gamblers in distress was also maintained. The workshop also generated the introduction of a venue-based customer care project. The implications of these results on responsible gambling policies are discussed.