Prevalence of Problem Gambling in Malaysia's Most Populous State

Abstract

Prevalence research precedes policy development by attempting to understand the pervasiveness and impact of certain disorders on public health. Problem gambling incurs serious psychological, social and financial costs on the gambler and significant others. An estimate of the frequency of occurrence and the demographics of at-risk cohorts are essential in the process of developing appropriate governmental policies and health resources to remediate this public health issue. In a pioneer problem gambling prevalence survey of Malaysia’s most populous state, 372 households were successfully recruited using a stratified random sampling method with the assistance of the Department of Statistics’ household numeration data. Results will describe the demographics, factors associated with gambling behavior, and prevalence rates of problem gambling and pathological gambling. These findings will be the first population-based prevalence data obtained on problem gambling in Malaysia. Implications and future directions will be discussed.