A study of South Korean casino employees and gambling problems

Background Casino employees are exposed to disproportionatelyhigh levels of gambling, drinking and smoking compared to otheroccupations. Because of their occupation, they have the opportunityto detect and prevent pathological gambling (PG). Aims To identify differences in the mental health status andsocial attitudes towards PG among casino workers in South Koreadepending upon whether they report any gambling problems. Methods Data were collected from 388 full-time casino employees.This data provided information about the prevalence of gamblingproblems, alcohol and tobacco use and depression. Employeeswere grouped according to their scores on the Korean versionof South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS), and those employees whogambled without experiencing any gambling problems (Group NP:SOGS = 0) and those who reported any gambling problems (GroupP: SOGS > 0) were compared. An exploratory factor analysesidentified the domains of casino employee social attitudes towardsgambling. Results Employees who reported gambling problems (Group P) reporteda higher prevalence of smoking, alcohol problems and depression(P < 0.01) compared to employees who did not report gamblingproblems (Group NP). The primary employee social attitude towardsgambling was identified by the factor of ‘Disease concept/socialawareness’. Group NP reported more positive attitudesin this domain than Group P (P < 0.01). Conclusions Employees who reported any gambling problems reporteda less positive attitude towards developing the public healthsystem to be responsive to gambling problems. These findingsindicate a need to develop health education programmes thatfocus more specifically on casino employees with gambling problems.