This week, Kindbridge Behavioral Health (KBH) CEO and Founder, Daniel Umfleet, joined Jonathan DeYoe on a problem gambling podcast titled “The Disconnect Between Real Dollars and Virtual Spending” to talk about the rising tide of gambling-related financial harms, especially among young adults in the United States. Jonathan DeYoe is the bestselling author of Mindful Money: Simple Practices for Reaching Your Financial Goals and Increasing Your Happiness Dividend who is the host of the 5-star rated The Mindful Money Podcast.
The discussion touched on key topics that are addressed often here on the Kindbridge blog. It will be very enlightening to young adults, parents, educators, policymakers, and other stakeholders who are figuring out how to navigate the newly gamified world of ours. You are encouraged to watch or listen to the engaging episode, and gain further insight by reading below as we highlight certain topics that were addressed in the interview.
Highlights from the Problem Gambling Podcast on Gambling Related Financial Harms Among Young Adult Americans
Why Gambling Addiction Statistics Are Limited (minute 10:00)
When asked about why statistics regarding gambling addiction among population segments in the United States are limited when compared to other mental health disorders, Umfleet references the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). The DSM-5 is a reference book on mental health and brain-related conditions and disorders. Gambling addiction had been in the DSM since back in 1980, but in 2013 it was reclassified as a behavioral health disorder. After the transition, there had been a significantly limited effort to provide public health screening for gambling addiction in communities across the USA. Further, in being declassified in DSM-5, general clinicians have not sought the same level of education on gambling addiction when compared to other mental health and brain-related conditions and disorders. Moreover, the proportionate lack of concerted effort to study problem gambling within population segments has rendered America with anecdotal legacy data. The most often quoted range of problem gambling prevalence in the United States is between 2 to 7%, which ignores prevalence rates among more vulnerable populations.
Problem Gambling in Athlete and Military Populations (minute 11:55)
In response to limited recognition of gambling related harms in America, the Kindbridge Research Institute (KRI) and KBH were formed. Umfleet touches on how early on, Kindbridge found that problem gambling treatment utilization rates were (and continue to be) higher among males from athlete and military communities. These findings align with recent research which confirms that problem gambling prevalence rates are notably higher among these two population segments.
View more on problem gambling within the military populations of the United States, right here.
View more on problem gambling within the athlete populations of the United States, right here.
Working with Operators to Treat Players, and Discover Patterns (minute 12:59)
Daniel discusses that in response to the lack of qualified information on gambling addiction in the United States, Kindbridge has recently formed relationships with online gambling platform providers (operators). These relationships exist not not just to provide operators’ respective players bases with counseling support should players opt-in for help, but to also identify patterns of problematic gambling behavior and gain other valuable insights.
Financial Responses to Early Gambling Losses (minute 13:50)
One of the more interesting findings that Umfleet addresses, is how a number of players who experience early financial losses from gambling aren’t looking at scaling back their habit to recoup these losses. Instead, these individuals are taking on side jobs, such as driving an Uber, to cover losses and supplement their income so that they can continue to gamble. Part of the flawed rationale (a cognitive distortion) is that they see casino gaming and sports betting as a means of earning consistent income, and they simply need to supplement their income to cover “temporary” losses until they get back on a hot streak (another cognitive distortion). What they are not recognizing, is that the Gambler’s Ruin formula proves that the house always wins, which you can learn more about here.
Recognizing Comorbidities (minute 16:05)
Daniel and Jonathan talk about one of the most critical factors in addressing problematic gambling behavior and decision making about related finances – cooccurring mental health issues. Anxiety, depression, insomnia, ADHD, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, substance abuse, and more are commonly identified in compromised individuals.
Read all about gambling and co-existing mental health disorders right here.
Financial Gamification (minute 18:15)
Near the midpoint of the discussion, host Jonathan DeYoe brings up the historical lack of education regarding financial literacy for our nation’s youth and young adults, and how in modern times the country is seeing a rise in gamification of finances. Gamified day trading, prediction markets, cryptocurrency trading, and NFT trading (all forms of gambling) have thrust young adults into a new and risky arena that they have no holistic comprehension of.
Pay-to-Play Gaming Commonplace in Adolescence (minute 20:00)
One very interesting phenomenon that does not get discussed enough in modern America, is how the gaming experience has fundamentally changed from one generation to the next.
20-minutes into the discussion, Umfleet talks about how prior to the era of digital transformation, youth could buy an Atari game (etc.) for $10 and play for an entire day, day after day. Once the capital investment (so to speak) was made, the game could be enjoyed to the fullest extent until a young player got bored with it. But in modern times marked by a proliferation of online gaming platforms and apps, youth have become accustomed to making micro-transactions to pay to reach new levels in a game. Decades ago, parents would walk into a store to buy their kid a gaming cartridge for their birthday, but now children are asking mom-and-dad to buy Roblox gift cards to unlock features and catchup with peers who have already “invested” to improve their gaming experiences. This pay-to-play phenomenon is not just problematic in itself, it can lead to early onset gambling behavior.
Young Adult Males Most at Risk (minute 26:48)
DeYoe asks Umfleet if there is a demographic that is most at risk. Without skipping a beat, Umfleet identifies young adult males (18-35) citing a lack of frontal lobe development as being part of the issue. The frontal lobe, which is responsible for regulating impulsivity, is not fully formed until around 25 or 26 years of age, particularly in males. As a result, they weigh risk quite differently when compared to those of more advanced years. Understanding this, regulators and policymakers must be willing to grow investment in early education regrading financial literacy as it applies to the risks involved with gambling behavior. This is already a significant area of concentration for Kindbridge.
The FOMO Phenomenon (minute 37:45)
Jonathan and Daniel touch on the reality of the fear of missing out (FOMO) phenomenon, as young adults witness members of their social, academic, and professional circles engage in gambling and other forms of financial gamification. Decision making is impacted by the pressure to get involved so that they’re not left out of the loop and purported financial rewards.
View more on the FOMO gambling problem among young Americans right here.
The episode concludes with a question from DeYoe to Umfleet, asking about what can be done to improve one’s literacy in the growing landscape of gambling and financial gamification. Watch the full podcast on gambling related financial harms for that answer, here on YouTube:
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