gambling in alberta - Research Services - University of Lethbridge

Problem Gambling
A recent review of the literature on gambling and problem gambling among North American
First Nations people suggests that the prevalence of problem gambling among Aboriginal
people is roughly 4 times higher than found in non-Aboriginal populations (Williams, Stevens, &
Nixon, 2011). This is largely consistent with an earlier review of this evidence where the
problem gambling prevalence rate was estimated at between 6.6% to 22% (Wardman, el-
Guebaly & Hodgins, 2001). Indeed, the last large scale national study of gambling in Canada in
2002 showed that the Canadian provincial problem gambling prevalence rate was best
predicted by proportion of the population with Aboriginal ancestry (Williams, West & Simpson
2007, 2008) (see Figure 52) .
Figure 52: Aboriginal Ancestry as it Relates to Canadian Provincial Problem Gambling Prevalence in 2002
(from Williams et al., 2008).
AB=Alberta; BC=British Columbia; MB=Manitoba; NF&L=Newfoundland & Labrador; NB=New Brunswick; NS=Nova Scotia;
ONT=Ontario; PEI=Prince Edward Island; QU=Quebec; SK=Saskatchewan
It is important to note that this high rate of problem gambling does not appear to be primarily
due to being ‘Aboriginal’, but rather the fact that Aboriginal people have many more risk factors
for problem gambling, which include greater overall participation, different beliefs about the
forces and factors influencing the outcome of gambling, younger average age, and a host of
unfavourable social conditions (e.g., poverty, unemployment, poor education, cultural stress,
etc.) that encourage the development of addictive behaviours (Williams, Stevens, & Nixon,
2011). As an earlier multivariate analysis indicated (Table 45, p. 174), although being Aboriginal
was an independent risk factor in being a problem gambler in 2008/2009, it was less important
than lower income, less education, high levels of stress, and having mental health problems.
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