FDU PublicMind - June 15, 2006 Release

New Jersey Seniors Gamble Away

Three in four New Jersey seniors aged 55 and over gamble. According to the most recent poll by Fairleigh Dickinson University 's PublicMind, of those who do gamble, 23% are disordered gamblers. ”Disordered gambling” is indicated by yes answers to one or more in a series of standard psychiatric screening questions, such as feeling shame related to gambling or gambling as a way to escape from personal problems. Based on responses to these questions, 2% of New Jersey senior gamblers can be considered pathological gamblers, roughly consistent with other studies of senior and adult gambling.

“Translating these percentages into estimated numbers of real people, some 340,000 New Jersey seniors may suffer from a gambling problem,” said John Schiemann, director of research for PublicMind. “Of these, approximately 29,000 may have a problem that is pathological,” added Schiemann.

The survey, sponsored by the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey, Inc., was designed to assess the range of senior gambling activities, including frequency, types of gambling, location, and the amount of money spent. The research also sought to identify the extent of disordered gambling among New Jersey seniors and identify some behavioral and demographic characteristics associated with disordered gambling.

For New Jersey seniors with some form of gambling problem, the average amount of money spent per year in casinos is more than three times higher than that spent by gamblers without any problems ($14,304 to $3,899). For lottery gambling, the disparity between safe gamblers and disordered gamblers is even greater, nearly six times more ($1,161 to $200).

“We always felt that problem gamblers spent more of their disposable income on gambling,” said Ed Looney, Executive Director of the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey, inc. “But it was surprising that it was three to six times greater than those who gamble in a safe manner.”

Results also show that nearly two in three New Jersey seniors play the lottery (65%) and almost as many gamble at casinos (63%). Casino gambling, however, is a less frequent activity for New Jersey seniors than is lottery gambling, with only two in ten spending more than a few days a year gambling at casinos while 55% play the lottery more than a few days a year.

“ New Jersey seniors like to gamble, but not very often,” according to Schiemann. “Of course, it's easier to buy a lottery ticket than to go to a casino, so that may be why playing the lottery is more frequent than gambling in a casino, said Schiemann.

For New Jersey seniors who gamble at casinos, slot machines are the game of choice, beating out blackjack five to one (69% to 13%). For the lottery, two in three lottery players play pick-a-number game (66%) and just over one in four play instant scratch-off (26%).

Nongambling New Jersey seniors were asked why they did not gamble. The most frequent reason cited was “not interested/not fun” (37%), followed by the possibility of losing money (30%), and moral or ethical concerns (22%).

“Moral and ethical concerns continue to be a prominent reason why some seniors don't gamble,” said Looney.

The survey of 700 randomly selected adults aged 55 and over throughout New Jersey was conducted from January 16 through April 18, 2006 and has a margin of error of +/- 4% percentage points. The project was underwritten by the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey, Inc.

Contacts:

Contacts: John Schiemann (PublicMind): 973.632.4931 or Ed Looney (CCGNJ): 609.588.5515

Radio actuality line: (201) 692-2846.

For more information, please call (201) 692-7032.