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Gambling, Gaming & Technology Use Community of Interest

The Gambling, Gaming & Technology Use Community of Interest brings together addiction and mental health service providers, researchers and subject matter experts in the fields of gambling, technology/Internet use and video gaming to collaborate and share knowledge on emerging trends and clinical best practices.

Hello All, and Happy New Year !

I’m a PG counsellor in B.C. and have been asked by an Insolvency (bankruptcy) trustee for articles/research/stats on ‘professional gamblers and their income’ - he is looking for information regarding the ‘typical average yearly income’ that a professional gambler ‘should’ be making if they consider this their ‘career’.  Is anyone aware of such information?

I’ve done a quick internet search and looked through Journal of Gambling Issues but haven’t found anything along these lines.  
Thank you in advance for your help !

Shannon

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Sharron, I did a quick search on Google Scholar using various key words but did not find any relevant articles on the topic in the research literature. I would assume how much income you can make depends on the hours you invest per week, the size of the bets, your level of ability at skills like card counting, the form of gambling (poker, blackjack, sports betting) and luck. I would also assume that the level of income one should be making in order to consider it as a career would be one that successfully allows you to pay all of your expenses (house, car, education, etc.) with enough left over to continue gambling.

I am not aware of any research that answers your question however, due to the nature of gambling, I think that income generated would fluctuate greatly. The house advantage that is built into most games makes it extremely difficult to make money over time. Research has found that professional gamblers are more likely than amateur gamblers to meet the criteria for problem gambling which is not surprising given house advantage.

Thank you very much folks, the question does sound more like a ‘special project’ for the income tax department  ;-)

I also imagine research relying on this type of ‘self-report’ data would be suspect.  

You are correct Vivien, this is exactly the issue the trustee is dealing with - what the individual ‘should/can’ be making to consider this a career versus what they are making, indicate this person is not running a viable business.

Thank you again for your help.

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