WWW.AGRM.ORG MAY/JUNE 2018 27 I n 2014, Good Shepherd Ministries in Toronto, Canada, conducted a survey regarding problem gambling among their homeless clients. For the nation overall, studies had shown that only about 3 percent of Canadian citizens reported concerns with gambling, so researchers might have expected similar results among homeless people. But the survey of 254 participants proved somewhat remarkable: 35 percent of the guests reported past issues with problem gambling. The Atlantic City Rescue Mission (in 2003), and Las Vegas Rescue Mission (in 1999) conducted surveys with similar results. As many as 20 percent of their clients surveyed suffered from gambling disorder (sometimes known as “problem gambling” or “gambling addiction,” and similar to “pathological gambling”). It would make sense that these numbers would be higher in regions with casino economies; but the Las Vegas study was part of a nationwide impact study that uncovered an average 18 percent of participants among homeless populations who reported gambling concerns, yet only 3 percent among the general population reported the problem. Ī AT STAKE? by Helen Goody