Gambling and Suicide
For millions of Americans, gambling addiction leads to hopeless pain and misery; for some it leads to death. Gambling-related suicides are an increasingly common phenomena as legalized gambling continues to spread throughout America.
Articles within this series
- Overview
- Gambling and Suicide
- Compulsive and Problem Gambling
- Next Steps / Related Information
For millions of Americans, gambling addiction has become a pathway to pain and misery; for some it leads to death. Gambling-related suicides have become an increasingly common phenomenon as legalized gambling has spread across America. The extent of this phenomenon remains largely unrecognized. The gambling industry tries to keep pathological gambling hidden or to minimize the impact. But problem and pathological gamblers are painting a much more disturbing picture, especially when gambling addiction robs men and women of their families, marriages, jobs, finances, houses and self-worth.
"There's no way we can explain it to you if you're not living in our personal hell, because we don't understand it either." -Recovering gambling addict (N.J. Gamblers Anonymous). 1
- A University of California-San Diego sociologist found that "visitors to and residents of gaming communities experience significantly elevated suicide levels." According to Dr. David Phillips, Las Vegas "displays the highest levels of suicide in the nation, both for residents of Las Vegas and for visitors to that setting." In Atlantic City, N.J., Phillips found that "abnormally high suicide levels for visitors and residents appeared only after gambling casinos were opened."2
- Nevada had the highest suicide rate in the nation from 1990-1994, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.3
- In Gulfport, Mississippi, suicides increased by 213 percent (from 24 to 75) in the first two years after casinos arrived. In neighboring Biloxi, suicide attempts jumped by 1,000 percent (from 6 to 66) in the first year alone.4
- The National Council on Problem Gambling, citing various studies, reports that one in five pathological gamblers attempts suicide, a rate higher than for any other addictive disorder.5
- At least 140 clients at Minnesota’s six gambling addiction treatment centers have attempted suicide, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The paper confirmed six gambling-related suicides in that state, but noted that the six are "almost certainly a fraction of the total number," given that authorities often do not ascertain motives in suicide cases.6
- A survey of nearly 200 Gamblers Anonymous members in Illinois found that 66 percent had contemplated suicide, 79 percent had wanted to die, 45 percent had a definite plan to kill themselves, and 16 percent had actually attempted suicide.7
- Authorities in Montreal, Canada, officially linked four suicides and a murder-suicide to gambling problems at the Montreal Casino within the first three years of its opening.8
- The Illinois Council on Compulsive Gambling reports that more than 20 Illinois residents have killed themselves as a result of a gambling addiction since casinos arrived.9
- Multiple casino-related suicides also have been reported in various others states, including Iowa, Missouri and Connecticut.10
- An investigation by the Canadian Press found more than 10 percent of suicides in Alberta and 6.3 percent in Nova Scotia were linked to gambling (2001 through 2003).11
"Suicide attempts among pathological gamblers are higher than for any of the addictions and second only to suicide attempt rates among individuals with major affective disorders, schizophrenia and a few major hereditary disorders,"-Dr. Rachel A. Volberg, President of Gemini Research, Ltd. (Gambling Research)12
Chad Hills is the Analyst for Gambling Research in the Public Policy Department at Focus on the Family.
1 Kirk Moore, "N.J. gamblers can get help before getting in over their heads," Asbury Park Press (New Jersey) online, 27 May 2003, (4 December 2003).
2 David P. Phillips, Ward Welty, and Marisa Smith, “Elevated Suicide Levels Associated with Legalized Gambling,” Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, vol. 27, December 1997, p. 373.
3 Associated Press, “Suicide Rates by State,” 28 August 1997.
4 Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr., “The House Never Loses and Maryland Cannot Win: Why Casino Gaming Is a Bad Idea,” Report on the Impact of Casino Gaming on Crime, 16 October 1995, p. 7.
5 National Council on Problem Gambling, Inc., “The Need for a National Policy on Problem and Pathological Gambling in America,” 1 November 1993, p. 7.
6 Chris Ison, “That Last Losing Bet Often Is More Than Some Can Take,” (Minneapolis) Star Tribune, 3 December 1995, p. 18A.
7 Henry R. Lesieur and Christopher W. Anderson, “Results of a 1995 Survey of Gamblers Anonymous Members in Illinois (N=184),” Illinois Council on Problem and Compulsive Gambling, 14 June 1995.
8 Lynn Moore, “Coroner’s File on Gambling Suicides Grows Longer,” (Montreal) Gazette, 11 January 1997, p. A4.
9 Christopher Anderson (interview), executive director, Illinois Council on Problem and Compulsive Gambling, 1 May 1998; Laura Gatland, “Paying to Play,” Crain’s Small Business Chicago, 1 October 1996, p. 24.
10 Dirk Johnson, “More Casinos, More Players Who Bet Until They Lose All,” New York Times, 25 September 1995, p. A1; Charles Bosworth, Jr., “Man Whose Wife Killed Herself Over Gambling Builds New Life,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 8 August 1995, p. 1B; Tim O’Neil, “Police Tie Suicide, Gambling,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 24 February 1996, p. 1A; United Press International, “Body Identified as Suicide Victim,” 7 May 1996; Keith Chrostowski, “Downward Slide Ends in Anguish, Suicide,” Kansas City Star, 10 March 1997, p. A11; “Relative: Death at Casino Was Suicide,” Hartford Courant, 12 March 1998, p. B6; Indira A.R. Lakshmanan, “A Woman’s Life Lost to Gambling,” Boston Globe, 9 March 1996, sec. Metro, p. 13.
11 Sue Bailey, "Two provinces have uncovered startling statistics linking gambling to suicides, raising new questions about the social costs of legalized betting in Canada," Canadian Press Newswire, 23 February 2003, Sec. F.
12 Eric Newhouse, "Problem players a growing trend, experts contend," Great Falls Tribune (Great Falls, MT), 31 July 2002, p. 1A.