Gambling research centre opens at UBC – Areas of study will include psychology …

Reducing the harm associated with problem gambling is one of the research areas the new Centre for Gambling Research at the University of B.C. will focus on, according to its director.

Luke Clark said Wednesday that the centre is one of a handful of gambling research centres in the world with a “casino lab.� Clark and his research team will be using four slot machines to collect real-time data such as pulse rate, sweat and facial muscle movement from people as they gamble.

Clark said the lab is also looking to more closely simulate the gambling environment by adding the smells, sounds and sights of a typical casino.

“We’ll be studying the psychology and neuroscience of gambling behaviour, looking at both the features of gambling games and the characteristics of people with gambling problems,� he said at the centre’s official opening.

Clark said the centre’s goal is to reduce the harm associated with problem gambling and improve how gambling research is translated into evidence-based public policy.

The Centre for Gambling Research was established in February 2013 with a $2-million grant from the B.C. Lottery Corporation and the provincial government.

Previously, Clark was a faculty member at the University of Cambridge where he established a reputation in the psychology of gambling.

For the first time in B.C., the centre will be recruiting local people to study the effects of problem gambling. The centre will study areas that include the psychology of decision-making and how people make sense of near misses.

Clark said among the areas the centre will study is what is called beliefs about randomness, such as the gambler’s fallacy — a misunderstanding about randomness. In roulette, for example, it is believing that if the last several spins have landed on black, then the opposite will happen next and the ball will land on red.

“So we’re really trying to understand both the features of the games themselves and the characteristics of the gamblers that put them at risk of developing a problem,� he said.

“This is really the start of a new phase of gambling research in British Columbia.�

Clark said 73 per cent of British Columbians are involved in gambling or gaming in some way. That figure includes everything from people buying lottery tickets to going to a casino to gamble. Between one and four per cent of people who gamble are considered problem gamblers.

The gambling centre is located on the fourth floor of the Audain Art Centre. The university will control management of the Centre for Gambling Research, which will operate with full academic independence.

Andrew Wilkinson, minister of technology, innovation and citizens’ services, said that provincial gambling revenue amounts to $1.18 billion a year — more than the money generated from the tax on tobacco, and more than what the province earns from forestry.

Gambling is responsible for 37,000 direct and indirect jobs in B.C. About $135 million a year goes into community gaming grants.

“This has become part of the social fabric of the province,� Wilkinson said, adding legal gambling keeps money in B.C. that might otherwise go to gambling centres in the U.S., such as Las Vegas.

“We also have to recognize that we need a commitment to responsible gambling. The vast majority of people involved in gaming-gambling are responsible and only use it for entertainment. A small minority do develop problems with gaming.�

kevingriffin@vancouversun.com

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