2024 Volume 36 Issue 3 Pages 117-123
The present study analyzed the effects of online gambling on patients with gambling disorder, with special focus on their financial status and psychological characteristics, and investigated the mechanisms that changed the type of gambling. Overall, 41 patients were divided into three groups by online experience （no online, partially online, and mostly online）, and were analyzed retrospectively. In addition, results of Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale （WAIS）, Wender Utah rating scale （WURS）, Autism-Spectrum Quotient （AQ test）, and South Oaks Gambling Screen （SOGS）, were assessed to elucidate their psychological characteristics. The main gambling gateways were pachinko （41.5％）, pachislot （29.3％）, and horse racing （12.2％）. Moreover, 29.2％ patients participated in online gambling. The total SOGS score was 11.4 （SD＝3.1）, exceeding the cutoff value of 5/6 with no observed difference among the three groups. The total amount of money invested was highest in the “mostly online” group, followed by the “no online” and “partially online” groups （P＜0.05 between “mostly online” and “partially online” groups）. Number of gambles was highest in the “partially online” group, followed by the “mostly online” and “no online” groups （P＜0.01 between “partially online” and “no online” groups）. In WURS, 30.0％ of the respondents exceeded the attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder （ADHD） trend cutoff. The highest working memory （WM） of 103.5 （SD＝15.0） was observed in WAIS-IV （P＜0.001 between WM and processing speed）. WAIS WM scores revealed that the “mostly online” group had the highest WM of 106.1 （SD＝11.3）, followed by the “partially online” group with 101.2 （SD＝13.3） and the “no online” group with 99.5 （SD＝18.6）. Pachinko and pachislot were the gambling gateways, and online gambling increased total debt. ADHD screening is crucial in treatment of patients with gambling disorders, and higher WM may be associated with a greater tendency of online gambling.
