LEVELS OF PROBLEM GAMBLING IN SOUTH AFRICA WITHIN INTERNATIONAL NORMS

SA’s Approach To Problem Gambling Internationally Respected

[Las Vegas, 14 September 2005] The number of people in South Africa with gambling problems is broadly in line with international norms, although there is some reason to be concerned that the growing availability of inexpensive and easily accessible forms of gambling may exacerbate the incidence of this phenomenon.

Speaking today in Las Vegas at the 2005 Global Gaming Expo, the world’s largest gambling conference, exhibition and trade show, Casino Association of South Africa (CASA) chief executive, Derek Auret, said that there had been a small increase over the past two years in South Africans who were developing problems with their gambling, and this was mainly because the country had introduced more inexpensive and more accessible new forms of gambling.

“In South Africa, casino gambling is predominantly a middle and lower-middle income activity, because of barriers to entry, such as price, and restricted supply. Only 5% of people in low income groups regularly play slot machines.

“However, the introduction of limited payout machines (LPMs), and the evolution of a national lottery offering a broader range of products, will see gambling becoming much more accessible to poorer people, both in terms of geography and price. We are already noticing that the increase in gambling in this latter market is coming from mainly lower-income groups”.

Mr Auret said that South Africa’s new casino industry had done much to stimulate new investment, encourage tourism, create jobs, and give opportunities to South Africans who were previously excluded from the mainstream economy. This is why, he said, independent research showed that almost 75% of South Africans approve of a regulated industry.

“And while it is common cause that, for most people, gambling is a harmless recreational pursuit, it is equally true that a small minority can and do develop problems with their gambling, and everyone, in both the private and public sector, who has an interest in the health of the industry, has an concomitant interest in dealing with this issue”.

The casino sector in South Africa, mindful of these obligations, joined with government regulators in 2002 to create the National Responsible Gambling Programme (NRGP). It was recognised early on that if the NRGP was to be credible, effective and independent of any sectoral interest, it should be established as a public/private sector partnership which integrated the concerns, insights and resources of government regulators and the industry.

“Today the NRGP is still the only programme of its type in the world which is jointly controlled by government and industry, and the only one internationally in which treatment, research and public education are integrated in a single, comprehensive and professionally-managed initiative. This model is unique among gambling jurisdictions worldwide, and it comes as no surprise to me to have learnt at this conference that other countries intend to replicate South Africa’s approach”.

In the past three years, the NRGP has provided free, professional medical treatment to over 3 000 problem gamblers, and its toll-free counselling line has telephonically assisted a further 3 000. It provides a 24/7 multi-lingual counselling service, and its treatment network extends to 34 towns and cities in each of South Africa’s nine provinces.

Some 11 000 industry workers to date have received training in the issues surrounding problem gambling, and since 2003, nearly 58 000 learners at 163 South African schools have participated in NRGP education projects. The programme’s research division has also conducted the two largest research studies ever undertaken in Africa into gambling trends and behaviour.

Mr Auret said that independent research suggested that 0.38% of the adult population in South Africa could be considered to be compulsive or addicted gamblers, with just over 0.5% of regular gamblers thought to be compulsive. This was consistent, he said, with other international jurisdictions, such as the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand where the number of compulsive gamblers was also under 1%.

“We estimate that the number of vulnerable problem gamblers at 5.29% of regular gamblers, and 3.8% of all adults who had easy access to gambling.

“These results suggest a less anxious picture than some may have expected in a developing country, but in a society with a greater number of poor people than one finds in the first world, we cannot afford to be complacent in our efforts to promote a culture of responsible gambling in our country”, he said.