Who Seeks Treatment When Medicine Opens the Door to Pathological Gambling Patients—Psychiatric Comorbidity and Heavy Predominance of Online Gambling

Background Few studies have assessed treatment-seeking behavior and patient characteristics in pathological gambling focusing on psychiatric comorbidity, particularly in a setting of heavy exposure to online gambling. This study aimed to address patient characteristics in a novel health care-based treatment modality for pathological gambling, including potential associations between gambling types, psychiatric comorbidity, and gender. Methods All patients undergoing structured assessment between January 2016 and April 2017 were included (N = 106), and patient records were reviewed for cooccurring psychiatric disorders and types of problem games. Results Eighty percent were men, and 58% received a psychiatric disorder apart from pathological gambling. Problematic gambling on online casino and online sports betting represented 84% of patients. Non-substance-related psychiatric comorbidity was significantly associated with female gender. Conclusion Online gambling is more clearly predominating in this setting than in studies from other countries. High rates of comorbidity call for structured psychiatric assessment in problem gambling, with a particular focus on female patients with pathological gambling.