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The NCRG is pleased to announce that nearly $2 million was pledged to research and education on gambling disorder in 2016. Several major casino operators pledged $1.155 million to support the organization’s mission of funding innovative research and education about gambling disorder and responsible gaming. An additional $610,000 was raised through annual contributions and conference sponsorships. These commitments put the NCRG over the $27 million mark in fundraising since its establishment in 1996. Support from the gaming industry continues to help fuel groundbreaking research in this field, and the NCRG counts on these commitments to increase our understanding of gambling disorders and responsible gaming.

The companies that renewed multi-year funding pledges during this campaign include:

• Las Vegas Sands Corp. ($900,000 over three years)

• Penn National Gaming ($180,000 over three years)

• Pinnacle Entertainment ($75,000 over three years)

An additional $610,000 was raised through payments on past pledges, single year contributions and conference sponsorships from the following companies:

• MGM Resorts International ($312,000)

• Boyd Gaming Corporation ($80,000)

• Wynn Resorts ($60,000)

• Rush Street Gaming ($50,000)

• Isle of Capri Casinos ($54,000)

• IGT ($15,000)

• Potawatomi Hotel & Casino ($10,000)

• Betsson Group ($8,000)

• Caesars Entertainment, Inc. ($5,000)

• William Hill US ($5,000)

• Seneca Gaming Corporation ($5,000)

• GameCo ($3,000)

• BMM Testlabs ($3,000)

The NCRG continues to make a significant impact by increasing understanding of gambling disorder and responsible gaming through high-quality research and science-based resources. As of December 31^st, 2016, NCRG-funded research has produced more than 332 articles in top-tier peer-reviewed publications, leading to a number of significant advancements in the field’s knowledge of gambling disorder prevalence, promising treatment strategies and youth gambling.

The NCRG has also developed peerless educational trainings–including the regional clinician workshops and webinars–and publications that are designed to bridge the gap between research and clinical practice. The NCRG will continue to expand its public education offerings through new videos, publications and science-based resources, and explore new opportunities to learn about gambling disorder and treatment.

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Connecting healthcare providers with the most up-to-date research is essential to quality care. TheNCRG Conference on Gambling and Addictionis one of the vehicles the NCRG uses to help counselors, psychologists, social workers, physicians, nurses and public health professionals learn about the latest research on gambling disorders. In fact, the NCRG conference offers the best educational experience for healthcare providers — as evidenced by the many approvals we have received for the continuing education hours offered by the conference. At this writing, the NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction, scheduled for Sept. 25-26, 2016, in Las Vegas, is approved to provide 13.5 continuing education hours by more health care organizations than any other gambling conference. First, we have the institutions that have granted approval of all NCRG educational programs:

• The NCRG is approved by theAmerican Psychological Associationto sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The National Center for Responsible Gaming maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
• The NCRG is approved to provide continuing education byNAADAC, The Association for Addiction Professionals(provider #100793).
• The NCRG is anNBCC-Approved Continuing Education Provider(ACEP) and may offer NBCC-approved clock hours for events that meet NBCC requirements. The ACEP is solely responsible for all aspects of the program (#6474).

In addition, the NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction has received single program approval from the following:

• The American Academy of Health Care Providers in the Addictive Disorders(Academy) has approved continuing education credit for certified addiction specialists (CAS) (approval #16-1466).
• The National Association of Social Workershas approved the NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction (approval #886389646-0).
• The Connecticut Certification Boardhas approved the 17th Annual NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction for 13.5 CEUs.
• The Illinois Certification Boardhas approved the NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction (#13146).
• The Canadian Addiction Counsellors Certification Federationhas approved the 17th NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction for continuing education hours.

We still have some outstanding applications at even more certifying agencies so please check atwww.ncrg.org/conferenceor email Christine Reilly (creilly@ncg.org) for updates or suggestions of other organizations.

We hope you can join us in Las Vegas on Sept. 25-26, 2016!

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The National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG) is pleased to announce the keynote speakers for the annualNCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction, scheduled for Sept. 25-26, 2016, in Las Vegas. The keynote addresses will be delivered by three of the leading innovators in the fields of addiction and gambling disorder:

Mark L. Willenbring, MD–Moving Towards 21st Century Addiction Treatment

Dr. Willenbring, the founder and CEO ofAlltyr: Transforming Treatment for Addictions and the former director of treatment research at the National Institute for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, is pioneering new ways to conduct addiction treatment. His talk, will focus on overcoming barriers to making scientifically based professional treatment available to the public. Dr. Willenbring was recently profiled in theNew York Times.

Dr. Jon E. Grant,principal investigator of the NCRG Center of Excellence at The University of Chicago, will respond by talking about the implications of Dr. Willenbring’s ideas for the treatment of gambling disorder.

Stacey A. Tovino, JD, PhD–Report Card on Affordable Care Act and Parity: Implications for Gambling Disorder

Dr. Tovino will present an update on her groundbreaking research demonstrating that challenges remain for securing insurance and disability coverage of gambling disorder. She is the Lehman Professor of Law at the William S. Boyd School Of Law andthe Director of the Health Law Program at theUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Judson Brewer, MD, PhD–Mindfulness, Addiction and Gambling

A psychiatrist and internationally known expert in mindfulness training for addictions, Dr. Brewer has developed and tested novel mindfulness programs for addictions and studied the underlying neural mechanisms of mindfulness using brain imaging. His work was featured on an episode of60 Minutes.Dr. Brewer is director of research at the Center for Mindfulness and associate professor in the departments of Medicine and Psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Visitncrg.org/conferencefor more details about the 2016 NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction. Registration information will be announced soon – stay tuned!

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This year the National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG) is celebrating20 yearsof funding high quality, peer-reviewed scientific research on gambling disorder. Since 1996 the NCRG has awarded more than$18 millionin support of investigations of gambling disorder and youth and college gambling through its competitive grants program. The NCRG is proud to continue this mission by offering Travel Grants, Seed Grants and Centers of Excellence in Gambling Research Grants in 2016.

Travel Grants are designed to support post-doctoral investigators presenting research on gambling disorder at major scientific meetings that do not normally feature gambling-related presentations. Applicants may request up to $1,500 for economy air travel, lodging, ground transportation, meals and early-bird registration fees. Applications for Travel Grants may be submitted any time.

Seed Grants support research activities such as pilot studies, secondary analysis of existing data and development of research methodology. Applicants may request up to $30,000 in direct costs for these one-year grants. The application deadline for 2016 is August 1.

The NCRG Centers of Excellence in Gambling Research Grants grants provide long-term institutional funding for broad, multidisciplinary investigations on gambling disorder. Applicants may request up to $350,000 in direct costs for a period not to exceed three years. Letters of intent to apply for a center grant are due June 1, 2016. Applicants invited to apply for a center grant will submit their proposals on October 3, 2016.

The NCRG welcomes applications from investigators in psychology, psychiatry, epidemiology, public health, sociology, economics, neuroeconomics, neuroscience and other relevant disciplines.

Detailed grant announcements and application forms are available for download atwww.ncrg.org/research-center. For questions about the NCRG Grants Program contact Christine Reilly, Senior Research Director, atcreilly@ncrg.orgor Nathan Smith, Program Officer, atnsmith@ncrg.org.

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The NCRG salutes the sponsors of the 2015 conference, held Sept. 27-29, 2015, in Las Vegas in conjunction with Global Gaming Expo. Our top Platinum Sponsors,Las Vegas Sands CorporationandMGM Resorts International, underwrote the two highlights of the conference: respectively, the Poster Session and Reception on Sunday evening and the NCRG Awards Luncheon on Monday.

Gold Sponsors includedBoyd Gaming Corporation,IGT,Potawatomi Hotel & CasinoandWynn Resorts, Ltd.Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc.was a Silver Sponsor, and Bronze Sponsors includedBet Buddy,BMM Testlabs,Gaming Laboratories International, andPenn National Gaming, Inc.Finally, we could not have managed the conference without the invaluable assistance of theAmerican Gaming Association,Reed ExhibitionsandGlobal Gaming Expo. The support of these corporations and organizations have made it possible for NCRG to continue to deliver a high quality educational experience at a cost accessible to all attendees.

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