Experts Will Convene To Examine New Model For Explaining Addiction, Implications For Treatment And Responsible Gaming

Conference Will Evaluate International Approaches to Responsible Gaming

Nov 23, 2004

The fifth annual National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG) Conference on Gambling and Addiction will bring together leading researchers, clinicians, policy officials and gaming industry representatives to explore new findings that could change the way we identify, treat and assist individuals with addictive disorders and could help guide the industry and public policy officials in developing more effective responsible gaming programs. The event will also feature a comprehensive examination of international responsible gaming issues from the public policy, industry, legal and scientific perspectives.

WHAT:“Gambling and Addiction: Shared Causes, Managing Consequences,” co-sponsored by the NCRG and the Institute for Research on Pathological Gambling and Related Disorders, a program of Harvard Medical School’s Division on Addictions.

  • Highlights of the conference include discussion of:
  • Relationship among all addictive disorders
  • Health risks for casino employees
  • Problem gambling issues among Native American communities
  • Regulating gaming and its potential health consequences in a global economy
  • Addiction in an age of terrorism and social stress
  • The effectiveness of public awareness campaigns on responsible gaming
  • Cognitive-behavior therapy for gambling disorders

WHO:Participants include more than 300 leaders representing the scientific, treatment, public health, public policy and industry sectors. Featured speakers include:

  • Peter Dean, chairman, Gaming Board of Great Britain
  • Dennis Eckart, chairman, NCRG
  • Timothy Hinkley, president and chief operating officer, Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc.
  • The Hon. Lana Oleen, majority leader, Kansas Senate
  • Howard Shaffer, director, Division on Addictions, Harvard Medical School
  • Nelson Westrin, vice chairman, National Indian Gaming Commission

WHERE:MGM Grand Hotel and Casino
Conference Center (third floor)
3799 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas

WHEN:Sunday, Dec. 5 – Tuesday, Dec.

** For a full schedule of conference events, presentation abstracts, interview requests or other information, please call Holly Thomsen at 202-530-4508. From Dec. 4 – 8, her contact number will be 202-425-8954. A conference schedule is also available atwww.ncrg.org. Media check-in for the conference will take place at the on-site registration area, located in the Premier Ballroom Foyer on the third floor of the MGM Grand Conference Center. Conference speakers will be available for media interviews after their presentations and by appointment via phone or in person. Interview availability is not restricted to conference dates. **

The NCRG, the only national organization devoted exclusively to public education about and funding of peer-reviewed research on disordered gambling, was established in 1996. The NCRG supports the finest peer-reviewed basic and applied research on gambling disorders; encourages the application of new research findings to improve prevention, diagnostic intervention and treatment strategies; and enhances public awareness of pathological and youth gambling. To date, the casino industry and related businesses have committed more than $13 million to this effort, and the NCRG has issued more than $8 million in support of groundbreaking research on gambling disorders. In 2000, the NCRG established the Institute for Research on Pathological Gambling and Related Disorders at Harvard Medical School’s Division on Addictions. For more information, visitwww.ncrg.org.

The Institute for Research on Pathological Gambling and Related Disorders is a program of the Division on Addictions at Harvard Medical School. In accordance with the Harvard University name policy, the Institute for Research on Pathological Gambling and Related Disorders should not be referred to as the “Harvard Institute…” or the “Harvard Medical School Institute…” For more information about the use of the Harvard name,visithttp://www.hms.harvard.edu/fa/use_of_the_Harvard_name.html.

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