gambling in alberta - Research Services - University of Lethbridge

Treatment Numbers and Costs
Treatment for problem gambling in Alberta is provided by many different agencies and
individuals. The main provincially-funded body is the Addiction and Mental Health division of
Alberta Health Services (AHS), with AHS reporting to the Alberta Ministry of Health and
Wellness. The origin of provincially-funded addiction treatment dates back to 1965 when
Alcoholism Foundation of Alberta became the Division of Alcoholism under the Alberta
Department of Health. 79 In 1971, Alberta passed the Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Act, which
created the Alberta Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Commission (AADAC), a semi-autonomous
government agency reporting to the Ministry of Health. AADAC was mandated to provide
treatment and prevention for alcoholism and drug dependency. It accomplished this through
the provision of both inpatient and outpatient services as well as providing funding to
autonomous addiction treatment agencies. In 1994 AADAC’s mandate was expanded to include
the prevention and treatment of problem gambling. AADAC continued as the provinciallyfunded
addiction treatment agency until April 1, 2009. At that time it ceased operations
pursuant to the Health Governance Transition Act and its programs were transferred to the
newly created Addiction and Mental Health division of the Alberta Health Services Board. (This
reorganization was ostensibly done to provide a more seamless integration of addiction and
mental services).
In addition to the provincially-funded programs, Albertans receive addiction treatment from
self-help groups (e.g., Alberta Gamblers Anonymous), their family physician, psychiatrists, their
pastor/minister/priest, private therapists, therapists associated with Employee Assistance
Programs, and telephone help lines. 80
The 2008 and 2009 population surveys asked people a) whether they ever wanted help for
gambling problems in the past 12 months, b) whether they ever sought help for gambling
problems in the past 12 months, and c) where they had sought help from. Results from 2008
and 2009 are combined (n = 4,005) and are reported below in Table 46. As can be seen, it is
estimated that only about 27% (an estimated 19,436/72,456) of problem gamblers desired
assistance for their gambling problem and only about 11% (an estimated 8,330/72,456) actually
sought help. For those who did seek assistance the most common source of help was Gamblers
Anonymous (31.5%) and counselling services (e.g., AADAC) (25.0%). The projected number of
people who reported attending a counselling service in Alberta (25% of 8,330 = 2,083) is very
close to AADAC’s own treatment numbers (see Table 47). Only about 44% (~3,649) of people
reported seeking out a service that was paid for by tax dollars (i.e., AADAC, family physician,
psychiatrist).
79 The Alcoholism Foundation of Alberta (AFA) had been formed in 1951 when the College of Physicians and
Surgeons, Alcoholics Anonymous and other concerned citizens created this agency. In 1953 AFA opened its first
clinic in Edmonton and in 1954 a similar centre opened in Calgary.
80 AADAC and now Alberta Health Services has operated a toll-free Helpline for many years offering information
about alcohol, drugs, tobacco and problem gambling as well as support and referral services.
175