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Gambling behaviour is likely to be strongly influenced by operant learning principles. Most forms of gambling, and most notably slot machine play, follow a random ratio (RR) schedule of reinforcement that should lead to rapid and extinction-resistant behaviour. In this paper we highlight the caveats that need to be applied when generalising animal models of learning to human behaviour. Studies need to be cognisant of the role of verbal rules and cognitive appraisals of contingency; the ability for participants to self-modify important elements of reward schedules; potential differences between concurrent and longitudinal schedule preferences; and, the role of important human motivations in financial decision-making. In particular, we believe that operant approaches to gambling may need to incorporate a greater focus on FOMO (or the fear of missing out) as a motivational construct that may explain some of the observed patterns of behaviour, including riskier behaviours, on slot games. The implications of these observations for future research and harm minimisation are discussed., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: PD and JP have received national and International industry and government funding to conduct studies into product risk assessment and harm minimization. DK has received funding from the State and Commonwealth government in Australia as well as the WHO., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Children living with a problem gambling parent are at risk of harm but no previous systematic reviews have specifically focused on the relationship of parental problem gambling and child wellbeing outcomes. The current review aimed to redress this gap by reviewing all available empirical evidence on parental problem gambling and child wellbeing., Method: Articles were identified by searching PsychINFO, CINAHL, Medline and Scopus. The search included terminology pertaining to parents, problem gambling and children and we included all peer-reviewed articles that reported parental problem gambling and child wellbeing outcome(s)., Results: Overall, 35 studies reporting a relationship between parental problem gambling and child wellbeing were included. Child wellbeing outcomes were reported across six domains: (1) psychological (k = 14); (2) family relationships (k = 17); (3) violence (k = 9); (4) behavioural (k = 7); (5) financial (k = 9); and (6) physical health (k = 3). The included studies were mostly unequivocal about negative impacts of parental problem gambling across the six domains. Sixteen studies provided evidence of negative child outcomes that were directly attributed to parental problem gambling (e.g., as a result of your parent's problematic gambling, you felt depressed). Nineteen studies reported evidence of the association of child negative outcomes and parental problem gambling but child outcomes were not directly attributed to parental problem gambling (e.g., parent is a problem gambler, child is depressed). Evidence was particularly robust on child distress and family dysfunction directly attributed to parental problem gambling., Conclusion: This is the first systematic review focusing exclusively on specific intra- and interpersonal problems experienced by children whose parents have a gambling problem., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Some forms of speculative trading share similarities with gambling. Decisions are often based on limited information, short-term motives for gain, and highly volatile and uncertain outcomes. Given these similarities, there is evidence to show that people who are attracted to gambling are also statistically more likely to engage in higher risk speculation such as day-trading of stocks and crypto-currency trading. In this study, involving 543 people (M = 388, F = 155, 85% aged 18-40 years) who reported at least monthly sports-betting, crypto-currency trading or both, we examined whether gambling and problem gambling were reliable predictors of the reported intensity of crypto-currency trading. The results showed that gambling and problem gambling rates were highest among those who reported both activities and that problem gambling scores (PGSI) and engaging in stock trading was significantly related to measures of crypto-currency trading intensity as based on the time spent per day, number of trades and level of expenditure. Future research should examine whether gambling history and involvement influences how people manage their investments in crypto-currencies, including their propensity for making riskier decisions and experiencing more negative outcomes., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The overlap of gaming and gambling activities within online digital technologies is of growing relevance to the study of technological addictions. Social casino games are immensely popular 'free to play' games that offer realistic emulation of financial gambling activities. Their structural similarities might suggest that engagement in social casino games may be particularly risky for people with existing gambling problems. Currently it is not known whether social casino games are used problematically by individuals who also experience problematic gambling, the extent of this overlap, the characteristics of those who experience problems with both activities, and the symptoms of problematic social casino game use they experience. An online survey was administered to Internet users (N=1554) to assess social casino game use and associated problems. This study examined a subsample of 176 adults who played social casino games and reported self-identified gambling problems. The results indicated that a greater frequency and diversity of social casino game playing and more frequent and larger expenditure on social casino games was significantly positively associated with symptom severity of problematic social casino game use. Gamblers who were younger, less educated, spoke a non-English language, and with higher psychological distress, were more likely to report greater problems. Playing social casino games to escape or relieve a negative mood was the most commonly reported symptom. These findings suggest that some problem gamblers may also be at risk of problematic engagement in online gambling activities that lack financial incentives. Gamblers' concurrent engagement in social casino games therefore warrants further consideration in gambling research studies and clinical practice settings., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Pathological gambling is known to be associated with a higher than average prevalence of psychological co-morbidities including a range of psychiatric conditions. A problem with much of this literature, however, is that such problems are also frequently found in populations affected by alcohol use disorder, which is common in populations of pathological gamblers. Accordingly, the principal aim of this study was to profile the comorbidities present in a sample of pathological gamblers, comparing those who did, and did not, additionally meet criteria for alcohol use disorder. A sample of 140 community-recruited regular gamblers completed a number of measures including the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire, NORC DSM-IV Screen Self-Administered and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. Comparisons showed that most psychiatric conditions (and in particular personality disorders) were significantly more prevalent in those with a dual diagnosis, followed by problem gamblers and then by those with neither disorder. This suggests that high rates of psychiatric illness in pathological gambling may be strongly influenced by co-occurring alcohol problems., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)