Utilisation patterns of helpline and Web chat services among gamblers in Singapore.

Author: Pezhummoottil Vasudevan Nair ASHARANI ¹ ; Syidda AMRON ¹ ; Raymond Swee Khoon NG ¹ ; Sunil VARGHESE ¹ ; Christopher Cheng Soon CHEOK ²
Author Information

1. National Addictions Management Service (NAMS), Institute of Mental Health, Singapore.
2. Department of General and Forensic Psychiatry, Institute of Mental Health, Singapore.
Publication Type:Journal Article
Keywords: Web chat; helpline; phone services
From:Singapore medical journal 2019;60(4):164-167
CountrySingapore
Language:English
Abstract: We evaluated the utilisation of a helpline and Web chat system by the public for gambling-related services in Singapore over a period of 12 months. The profile of callers, call characteristics and actions taken were descriptively analysed using aggregate data. The majority of helpline calls and Web chats were from gamblers aged 40-49 years (23.3%, n = 644). Gamblers made 85.4% (n = 8,010) of the calls to the helpline and 73.3% (n = 546) of the Web chats. About four-fifths of the gamblers were Chinese (79.5%, n = 6,381) and employed full time (79.9%, n = 4,125). Table games (67.6%, n = 2,605) were the most popular gambling activity reported by callers, 55.8% of which involved local casinos. Enquiries were mostly casino related (92.4%, n = 5,739). Approximately 1,827 calls were received per month during the study period and 185 referrals were made to the clinic, 80.5% of whom sought treatment.