Dr. Crystal Fulton:

The participants in our research did not necessarily have a problem only with gambling. Some participants also had problems with alcohol or drugs. There is a kind of co-addiction. It was often the case that people talked about having a problem with one thing or another, going for treatment for that issue, and then discovering that they also had a gambling issue which did not come out until they were in therapy and trying to get well. It is hard to separate in that sense, but I appreciate the Deputy's comments about the differences between the two. If somebody is having a problem with alcohol or drugs there is an immediate physical response which can be identified. One can see that somebody is in some way intoxicated. When gambling one is not putting a substance into one's body to change one's mood; one is using gambling to do that. The outcome is different. Any of us sitting here could be gambling right now and the others would not necessarily know. If one of us was drinking to excess or taking drugs, the rest of us would potentially know. There would be observable physical signs. That is a big difference.

In addition, as I mentioned, when a person seeks help it is not always flagged as a person seeking help for gambling. We were asked earlier how we determine how many people are asking for help. It is quite difficult to count because some people may be presenting for alcohol problems so that their insurance company will cover the treatment when really they have a gambling issue. This is again quite a complex space. There are a whole lot of things going on. I see the Deputy's point about dividing them, but I can see how there is overlap.