"Video lottery" and treatment for pathological gambling. A natural experiment in South Dakota.

Four agencies which offer specialized treatment for pathological gambling provided data on the number of inquiries about gambling treatment and the actual number of gamblers treated before, during, and after the shutdown of video lottery in the state of South Dakota. A marked decrease in the number of inquiries and number of gamblers treated was seen during the time the machines were turned off as compared to the time periods when video lottery gambling was available. The results suggest that the accessibility and availability of video lottery machines is an important factor in the number of people being adversely impacted by gambling.