Older problem gamblers face suicide risk

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., Sept. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. adults age 55 and older reported gambling an average of 17 years before having themselves banned from casinos, researchers said.

Researchers Lia Nower of the Rutgers University Center for Gambling Studies and Alex Blaszczynski of the University of Sydney in Australia looked at 1,601 self-described problem gamblers who asked between 2001 and 2003 to be banned from Missouri casinos.

Compared to their younger counterparts, older problem gamblers who ask casinos to bar them from returning are three to four times more likely to do so because they fear they will kill themselves if they don't stop betting, the researchers said.

All participants were asked to cite the main reason or reasons why they sought to be barred from casinos. Younger, middle-aged and older adults all gave as the primary reasons of: gaining control, needing help and hitting rock bottom. However, nearly 14 percent of older adults surveyed indicated they sought help because they wanted to prevent themselves from committing suicide.

"This is particularly troubling because, irrespective of age, problem gamblers have reported rates of suicidal ideation and/or attempts as high as six times those found in the general population," Nower said in a statement.

The findings are published in the journal Psychology and Aging.