A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, concerts, and sports.
Problem gambling or ludomania is repetitive gambling behavior despite harm and negative consequences. Problem gambling may be diagnosed as a mental disorder according to DSM-5 if certain diagnostic criteria are met. Pathological gambling is a common disorder associated with social and family costs.
The American Gaming Association (AGA) is a United States gambling industry association. It was founded in 1994 with the goal of promoting, educating and lobbying on behalf of the gambling industry through education and advocacy. The AGA's offices are located in Washington, D.C.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is a governmental agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, founded in 2004 as the state licensing and the regulatory agency responsible for overseeing slot machines and casino gambling in the state.
Gamblers Anonymous (GA) is an international fellowship of people who have a compulsive gambling problem. They meet regularly to share their "experiences, strength and hope", so they can help each other solve the problems compulsive gambling has created in their lives, and to help others recover from the addiction of compulsive gambling. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop gambling, as stated in the GA Combo book page 2.
The National Council on Problem Gambling is an American nonprofit organization. Founded in 1972 by Joseph A. Dunne and Robert Custer, among others, it is the oldest organization on gambling issues in the United States. The Council established two principles:
The Gaming Hall of Fame was established in 1989 to recognize individuals who have played a significant role in the gaming-entertainment industry.
Responsible Gambling, also known as Safer Gambling, is a set of social responsibility initiatives held by the gambling industry – including government regulators, operators, and vendors – to ensure the integrity of their operations and to promote awareness of the harms associated with gambling, such as gambling addiction.
Patti S. Hart is a former executive and tech industry leader, speaker, and anti-retirement author. Before retiring, she served as the vice chairman of International Game Technology (IGT). She previously served as its CEO from April 2009 through April 2015, and has served on the company's board of directors since June 2006. She currently resides in Northern California with her husband Milledge.
The Massachusetts Council on Gaming and Health is a private, non-profit health agency that was founded in 1983. It provides information, promotes public awareness, and offers community education, professional training, advocacy and referral services for problem gamblers, their loved ones, and the greater community.
Mark D. Griffiths is an English chartered psychologist focusing in the field of behavioural addictions, namely gambling disorder, gaming addiction, Internet addiction, sex addiction, and work addiction. He is a Professor of Behavioural Addiction at Nottingham Trent University and director of the International Gaming Research Unit. He is the author of five books including Gambling Addiction and its Treatment Within the NHS, Gambling and Gaming Addictions in Adolescence, and Adolescent Gambling. He has also authored over 600 refereed papers, 140+ book chapters and more than 1,500 articles, and has won 15 awards for his research, including a Lifetime Achievement Award For Contributions to the Field of Youth Gambling in 2006 and International Excellence Award For Gambling Research in 2003 and a Lifetime Research Award For Gambling Research in 2013. Griffiths has recently encountered criticisms on his publication record, with scholars raising a number of concerns including the lack of data sharing/transparency and self-plagiarism found across a number of his papers.
Gary William Loveman is an American economist, businessman, and former academic professor. After nine years on the faculty of Harvard Business School, he left in 1998 to become COO of Harrah's Entertainment, which, following a number of acquisitions, became Caesars Entertainment. He was the CEO of Caesars Entertainment Corporation for 12 years until stepping down on June 30, 2015, amidst a bankruptcy and restructuring. He remained chairman until late 2017. He was then president of Aetna’s Consumer Health and Services division from October 2015 until January 2018.
Craig Hart Neilsen was an American gaming industry executive who founded Ameristar Casinos, Inc. and formed the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation to fund scientific research and quality of life programs for people living with spinal cord injuries.
Nancy M. Petry was a psychologist known for her research on behavioral treatments for addictive disorders, behavioral pharmacology, impulsivity and compulsive gambling. She was Professor of Medicine at the University of Connecticut Health Center. Petry served as a member of the American Psychiatric Association Workgroup on Substance Use Disorders for the DSM-5 and chaired the Subcommittee on Non-Substance Behavioral Addictions. The latter category includes Internet addiction disorder and problem gambling. She also served as a member of the Board of Advisors of Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development.
Professor Henrietta Bowden-Jones OBE is a medical doctor, Psychiatrist, Honorary Professor at University College London and Honorary Senior Visiting Fellow, Dept of Psychiatry at Cambridge University.
Wendy Sue Slutske is an American psychologist and behavior geneticist known for her research on alcohol use disorder, gambling disorder, and other addictive disorders. She is a professor and director of the Center of Excellence in Gambling Research at the University of Missouri, where she has taught since 1997. In 2011, she received the National Center for Responsible Gaming's Scientific Achievement Award in recognition of her gambling research.
Donald W. Black is a prominent American psychiatrist, researcher and professor emeritus of psychiatry at the University of Iowa. He is the editor-in-chief of the Annals of Clinical Psychiatry. A researcher on gambling disorder, he received the Scientific Achievement Award from the National Center for Responsible Gaming in 2016. Black has lectured nationally and internationally and has authored more than 400 publications.
Ken C. Winters is an American psychologist known for his research on addictive behaviors such as problem gambling. He is a senior scientist at the Oregon Research Institute, a consultant for the National American Indian & Alaska Native Addiction Technology Transfer Center, and a Research Associate Professor for the Office of Research and Economic Development at Florida International University. He previously served as a tenured professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Minnesota, as a Senior Scientist with the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based Treatment Research Institute, and an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Psychology at the University of Minnesota. He was founder and director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse Research for twenty-five years, and in 2013, he was named chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of the National Center for Responsible Gaming.
Catharine Antonia Winstanley is a Canadian behavioural neuroscientist. She is a Full professor in the Department of Psychology and the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health at the University of British Columbia. In this role, she co-created the world’s first rat casino in an animal lab experiment to model human gambling. In 2020, Winstanley was elected to the Royal Society of Canada's College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists.
