"Why hasn't the culture war engaged in the issue of gambling?" This question, posed by Steven A. Light, professor and co-director of the Institute for the Study of Tribal Gaming Law and Policy at the University of North Dakota, seems to lie at the center of "Gambling and the American Moral Landscape," a conference that was held at Boston College on Thursday and Friday and explored such topics as theology, family life, science, and politics and policy making and their relation to gambling.
"Gambling is a fundamental part of American culture," Light said. However, many scholars at this conference believe it does not get the attention it deserves. This conference was an attempt to provoke the extensive and comprehensive discussion that should be revolving around gambling and its role in American life.
John P. Hoffmann, professor at Brigham Young University, said, "Gambling not only affects the individual but also affects families and communities." Hoffmann was careful to point out that gambling usually does not negatively affect families unless the activity evolves into "problem gambling." When gambling becomes a habit or dependency it can result in poor communication and poor conflict resolution skills, poor parenting skills, and low-quality family relationships.
Consequently, having a "problem gambler" in the home leads to emotional problems for spouses and children as well. It can have a particularly detrimental effect on children, causing feelings of abandonment and loss of trust.
In addition, a child whose parent is a "problem gambler" is more likely to become "problem gamblers" themselves. Hoffmann said there is little nationally representative research about the effect of gambling on the family and the implications for marriages and children. This is probably because "it is hard to partial out whether there is something unique about family problems and gambling problems," Hoffman said.
Hoffmann believes that more research could produce answers for the many questions he still has: Do stronger family ties help prevent pathological and problem gambling? What type of family environments encourage or discourage gambling problems? How can we separate issues of gambling and family issues?
"There is a need for more prospective studies that address gambling and family functions. They also must address other lifestyle domains, such as education and occupation," Hoffman said.
The repercussions of gambling extend beyond the familial sphere. Marc Potenza, who directs the Problem Gambling Clinic, Neuroimaging for the VA MIRECC, and the Women and Addictive Disorders Core at Yale University, suggests that there is a correlation between certain brain functions and pathological gambling. Pathological gambling is a more severe version of problem gambling and is classified as an Impulse Control Disorder (ICD).
Potenza said there is research showing a relation between serotonin levels and ICDs. Low levels of serotonin are associated with impaired impulse control. In addition, Potenza said that brain functions and levels of activity in certain parts of the brain change when a person gambles.
Especially with regard to Indian gaming, gambling currently has a close connection with politics. Alan Wolfe, professor and director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life at Boston College, said that although gambling is a political issue, there is a lack of serious national debate about it as well as a lack of investment from specific political parties.
"We missed a national discussion about gambling," Wolfe said. "There is a lack of liberal political philosophy regarding this issue. There is nothing contested and nothing at stake because the issue has not been brought to the national level of debate that other issues have."
Wolfe suggested that one reason for this is that gambling never rose to the level of controversy for religious communities that other topics such as abortion have. There does not appear to be an open and significant religious opposition to the issue.
Wolfe believes it is important that politics and policy making be more involved in the issue of gambling. He concluded his presentation by saying, "We owe ourselves a better national discussion on gambling."
All participants of the conference were glad to have a space to examine, discuss, and debate the various dimensions of gambling and their implications for American society.
"Thank goodness we have conferences like this one to inform understanding of American life, American culture, and American public policy," Light said.
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