The public health burden of gambling is hard to estimate. Death by suicide presents a substantial public health cost that can be more easily measured. The current study examined data from the National Violent Death Reporting System in the US. The aim was to detect cases of death by suicide where gambling was identified as a factor. There were 296,317 cases of death by suicide from 2003 to 2020. Gambling was mentioned as a factor in 1,306 cases (0.44%).
Gambling-related death by suicide was more likely to involve men than women, and middle-aged people than older or younger people. It was also over-represented in people identified as Asian/Pacific Islander or American Indian/Alaska Native. It was under-represented in people identified as Black or African American. Gambling-related death by suicide was over-represented in cases where alcohol use was suspected; cases with significant financial problems; and cases where intimate partner problems were involved. It was under-represented in cases involving people with a mental health diagnosis. The rate of gambling-related death by suicide in Nevada was around nine times higher than the rate in the overall sample.
