We compared characteristics of 722 problem gamblers aged 18-59 to 157 gamblers aged 60 or older who entered CalGETS outpatient treatment between July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2017.
The graph shows that younger gamblers entering treatment are mostly men (69% men, 31% women). Among older gamblers, women make up a greater percentage of those seeking treatment for problem gambling (48% men, 52% women).
On average, older problem gamblers first gambled at a later age (age 30 for older gamblers, age 21 for younger gamblers) and problem gambling took longer to emerge (20 years for older gamblers, 10 years for younger gamblers).
Source – Outpatient Gamblers: CalGETS Fiscal Year 2016-17 dataset, prepared for the California Department of Public Health, Office of Problem Gambling by the University of California Los Angeles Gambling Studies Program.
In California, problem gamblers can receive no-cost treatment through CalGETS. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER.