In the Media

For a full list of media outputs, the 2021 CGR progress report is available here.

CBC Marketplace: The Big Gamble
Luke was featured in the new episode of CBC Marketplace on sports gambling ads, where he discussed the effect of audio-visual cues on risky decision-making during gambling tasks. Click here for the full video!

On the radio: Luke talking about athletes in sports betting ads
Listen to Luke this Thursday on the Mike Smyth show on CKNW 980, talking about the announcement from Ontario to ban athletes and celebrities from gambling advertisements.

In the news: Luke interviewed by Vancouver Sun on sports betting
Luke is featured in this article in today’s Vancouver Sun on the mounting backlash across Canada on gambling advertisements during televised sports

Luke and Raymond featured in Global News and CTV News articles
Following the New Horizons conference, Luke and Raymond are featured in Global News and CTV news articles about the migration effect from loot boxes to gambling and the characteristics of gambling stream viewers.

Sports Gambling Ads and the Stanley Cup Playoffs
Luke was interviewed by CBC Kelowna on the Daybreak South radio show about the rise in sports gambling ads for people watching the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The link is to the full show but the relevant section is from 1:45 to 1:53.

Youtube seminar ‘Gambling and Bipolar Disorder’
Luke is featured in this online seminar about gambling and financial difficulties in people with bipolar disorder, as part of the TalkBD YouTube series, for CREST.BD (UBC Department of Psychiatry), hosted by Dr Erin Michalak and also featuring Dr Thomas Richardson (Southampton Uni, UK), live streamed on 9 May 2022

New Statesman article on online gambling data & tracking
Luke is interviewed in this piece in the New Statesman on how gambling websites can use behavioural tracking for harm reduction but also for marketing purposes. Some discussion of our recent paper in IGS by Stephanie Finkenwirth et al.

University of Sydney, Technology, Risk-taking and Gambling (TRG) webinar
Luke is one of the webinar discussants in Season 2 of the (highly recommended) University of Sydney TRG webinars organized by Kahlil Philander and Sally Gainsbury. This episode on ‘Cashless payments in gambling venues: what do we know and what do we need to know?’ also features Sally, Tom Swanton and Kasra Ghaharian https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pul8p6L6s8

PODCAST: Spencer on Jeff Does Vegas
The recently-graduated Dr Spencer Murch is interviewed about his PhD research on slot machine immersion for this detailed discussion on the Jeff Does Vegas podcast. ‘Total immersion: the psychology of slot machines’, episode 84, also available on Spotify & AppStore.

All Bets Are Off podcast
Luke was interviewed for the opening episode of Season 3 of the All Bets Are Off gambling podcast (UK), discussing online slot machine gambling and ‘slot streams’ https://open.spotify.com/episode/0hENhEuJY1ePdHmF62ajp5 This is an excellent podcast series and we recommend other episodes including Gambling in the Chinese Community (S3 E2) and Social Casino Games & Loot Boxes (S3 […]

Luke quoted in CBC coverage on launch of N.B. online gambling platform
The launch of a provincial online gambling platform in New Brunswick has raised a number of issues, including the impact of the pandemic on different forms of gambling, and the level of gambling on offshore online platforms. This article on CBC asked whether higher maximum bets & percentage returns on the new online slot machine games in […]

Luke quoted in The Province: gambling, COVID-19 and calls to the BC gambling helpline
Quotes from Luke Clark in The Province article: the headline is a 20% drop in calls to the BC gambling telephone helpline since the start of the COVID pandemic. Although, as casinos have been fully closed for the duration of this time, and sports betting also substantially affected, an alternative perspective is that the fact […]

Luke featured in CBC article on gambling and COVID
Luke is featured in an article by CBC on how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting lottery sales and gambling more broadly, in the Maritimes.  

NEW PAPER: Flow and Slot Machine Gambling
We have a new paper in Frontiers in Psychology, led by Spencer Murch, looking at a cardiac psychophysiology measure called Pre-ejection Period (PEP) as a marker of sympathetic nervous system activity, during slot machine gambling. This paper features in a special section of Frontiers  on High Performance Cognition: Information-processing in Complex Skills, Expert Performance, and […]

NEW PAPER: Use of video-game ‘loot boxes’ and associations with problem gambling
Congratulations to Gabriel Brooks, for his first CGR publication in Addictive Behaviors, looking at the links between video game loot box engagement in adult gamers, & problem gambling and gambling-related cognitive distortions. The link to the UBC press release is here, and Gabe’s interview on the Global BC breakfast news is here. The original paper […]

INTERVIEW WealthSimple
Luke is interviewed by the online finance magazine WealthSimple in a piece called ‘Why Our Brains Like Gambling’

Interview: on BBC Radio5live Stephen Nolan show
Stephen Nolan interviewed Luke in a detailed look at modern gambling machine design and personal risk factors for problem gambling. The BBC clip (Luke is on for about 25 mins from 1:05 to 1:30) will be available until 19 December.  

NEW PAPER: Mariya Cherkasova, Sensory Feedback on Gambling Games
Congratulations to Mariya for publishing her new research on the effects of audiovisual feedback in gambling games, in Journal of Neuroscience: Cherkasova M, Clark L, Barton J, Schulzer M, Shafiee N, Kingstone A, Stoessl AJ, Winstanley CA. Win-concurrent sensory cues can promote riskier choice. Journal of Neuroscience. We have a video explainer for the press […]

Luke speaking on CFAX about online gambling and self-exclusion
Radio interview with Luke Clark on CFAX 1070 (Victoria) about the links between problem gambling and online gambling, and resources for gamblers seeking help.

Luke Clark speaking on gambling at the HOpe Centre in North Van
"The Psychology of Gambling and Gambling Addiction: Science & … LIVE from Vancouver with Dr. Luke Clark – speaking on "The Psychology of Gambling and Gambling Addiction: Science & Policy" at The Kelty Dennehy Mental Health Resource Centre Mental Health Breakfast, Dec 9, 2017. Posted by CREST.Bipolar Disorder on Friday, December 8, 2017

Stat News web article – NCRG conference
The National Center for Responsible Gaming, which is funded by leading casinos, has organized the conference for the last 18 years. The industry’s role was hardly a secret. The company that operates the Venetian and the Palazzo sponsored a poster session. The company that runs Caesars Palace sponsored a refreshment break. And MGM sponsored a lunch. […]

Rick Mercer visits the Centre for Gambling Research, October 2017
Rick immerses himself in cutting edge research on the beautiful University of British Columbia campus in Vancouver. more

Richmond News – Seniors curb gambling addiction with Chinese drama
A group of seniors perform drama in Richmond aimed at curbing addiction to gambling more  

PC Gamer – Behind the addictive psychology and seductive art of loot boxes
Why do loot boxes provide such a dark compulsion? Psychologists call the principle by which they work on the human mind ‘variable rate reinforcement.’ “The player is basically working for reward by making a series of responses, but the rewards are delivered unpredictably,” says Dr Luke Clark, director at the Center for Gambling Research at […]

New paper on slot machine immersion
Spencer Murch’s latest data linking a psychological state of immersion in modern slot machines with risk of problem gambling was recently published online in the journal Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, and has received widespread media coverage over the last few weeks including Vancouver Sun and CBC .This is a timely and important paper for the Centre as it […]

Daily Mail – slot machines create trance-like state in gamblers
Slot machines really do lull gambling addicts into a trance, researchers find; the ‘slot machine zone’ is the idea that problem gamblers prefer slot machines, this is because slot machines are fast and allow for a continuous style of play, people experienced with slot machines lose track of time and their surroundings, and the researcher say […]

CBC News – Redesign slot machines to be less attractive to problem gamblers
Research out of UBC is pointing to strategies that could make playing slots less addictive — especially for problem gamblers — by flashing warning messages right on a game’s display screen. more

Vancouver Sun – Problem gamblers enter a trancelike ‘zone’ when they play slots, UBC study finds
Gambling addicts enter a trancelike state while playing slot machines that appears to make the surrounding world and its cares melt away, according to new research from the University of British Columbia. more

Times Colonist: Problem gamblers enter trancelike ‘zone’ when they play slots
Gambling addicts enter a trancelike state while playing slot machines that appears to make the surrounding world and its cares melt away, according to new research from the Spencer Murch more

CBC News – craving in problem gambling
Eve Limbrick-Oldfield, from the Centre for Gambling Research at UBC, discusses their new paper on craving and the insula in problem gambling. Broadcast 3rd January 2017 more

Roundhouse Radio – UBC Study Finds Gambling And Drug Addiction Activate Brain In Similar Ways
A UBC psychology study has identified similarities in the brain activity of drug addicts and problem gamblers that could help improve treatment for those that struggle with a gambling addiction. Researchers at the university’s Centre for Gambling Research say a part of the brain responsible for cravings, known as the insula and the prefrontal cortex, […]

Metro News – Gambling addiction triggers same part of brain as drug addiction: UBC study
The finding could help rehab centres measure the effectiveness of treatments, something that is currently difficult. more

Vancouver Sun – Gambling, alcohol, drug addictions share brain circuitry
Gambling addicts are being given a drug that curbs alcohol and heroin cravings in an experiment conducted by researchers at UBC’s Centre for Gambling Research. more

Pulse FM – Craving in gambling disorder
Eve Limbrick-Oldfield from the Centre for Gambling Research at UBC discusses the teams new study on craving in problem gambling. Broadcast 4th January 2017 more

Roundhouse Radio – Craving in gambling disorder
Broadcast on 6th January 2017, Eve Limbrick-Oldfield discusses new research on craving in gambling disorder more

CFAX 1070 – Eve Limbrick-Oldfield on craving in problem gamblers
Dr. Limbrick-Oldfield talks about a recent study investigating craving responses in problem gamblers. more

Global News – Craving in problem gambling
Luke Clark and Eve Limbrick-Oldfield talk about their new research study investigating the brain response to craving in problem gambling. more

Nautilus Magazine – How Designers Engineer Luck Into Video Games
The responsibilities and challenges of programmed luck more

Poll: British Columbians see online betting as most dangerous form of gambling
Online betting is more likely than any other type of gambling to be perceived as dangerous, according to a new poll — but a University of B.C. psychologist says the reality may be much more complicated than that. more

Research2Reality 2016 “What makes gambling addictive?”
Website featuring innovative science in Canada Is slot machine gambling more about excitement or absorption? Professor Luke Clark looks at how game design influences gambling addiction. more

Global News – Is playing Pokemon GO a good or bad thing for our society?
Is playing Pokemon GO a good or bad thing for our society? The popularity of Pokemon GO just keeps growing and so does the debate over whether it’s good or bad. Linda Aylesworth searched for an answer. more

CBC News – Organizers cancel Pokémon Go meet-up planned for Stanley Park
Despite cancellation, many on Facebook say they plan to visit Stanley Park to chase Pokémon anyway. “As you need to go outside and move around to progress in the game, I hope this might work as a natural barrier to the game becoming too addictive,” said Luke Clark in the release. more

News1130 – Pokémon Go good for mental health: study
“Players need to get outside in order to play the game. That’s really responsible for this amazing social contagion of the game, but it also seems to be impacting people’s mental health as well,” says Luke Clark, the director of the centre for gambling research at UBC. more

UBC Trek magazine (alumni magazine) – Pokemon Go
The Surprising Psychological Benefits and Risks of Pokémon Go more

UBC press release on Pokemon Go
The surprising psychological benefits— and risks— of Pokémon Go more

“Why we love reading about lottery winners” CBC
Why we love reading about lottery winners, even unhappy ones ‘It invites us to indulge in the fantasy of what it would be like to win,’ psychology prof more

Voice of BC – Lotteries and Gaming
BC Lottery Corporation (BCLC) CEO Jim Lightbody shares his insights on the state of BC’s gaming industry. He explains the various departments at BCLC and their role as a crown corporation. Money laundering, improving social licence for casinos and the new parq Vancouver Casino at BC Place are also discussed. more

BBC Radio 4 – The Hindsight Bias
The Human Zoo is a place to learn about the one subject that never fails to fascinate – ourselves. Are people led by the head or by the heart? How rational are we? And how do we perceive the world? There’s a curious blend of intriguing experiments to discover our biases and judgements, explorations and […]

Centre for Gambling Research New Horizon’s 2016 videos on gambling
Videos featured in the New Horizons 2016 conference to show different gambling cognitive distortions and responsible gambling messaging. more

“Gambling: the impetus, evolving theories, characteristics, and treatments” – Online recorded interview with Abbey Strauss for the Florida Psychiatric Society
Luke Clark, Ph.D., from the University of British Columbia, explains gambling: the impetus, evolving theories, characteristics, the drive, that it is an addiction, and the interventions and treatments. more

Gambling in the Movies #5: Two for the Money
The latest film in our gambling series focusses on the world of sports betting, with the Pacino / McConaughey blockbuster “Two for the Money”. McConaughey is the lead as Brandon Lang, a football player who is forced to take a job at a call centre after a career-ending knee injury. He’s quickly given an assignment […]

Hindsight bias – BBC Radio 4
Human Zoo is an excellent series about psychology on BBC Radio 4, hosted by Michael Blastland and Timandra Harkness, and featuring resident expert Prof Nick Chater, one of the top Judgment and Decision Making researchers in the UK. This week’s program is a great primer on the phenomenon of hindsight bias, where our judgments on […]

The Psychology & Neuroscience of Gambling Addiction – Dr Luke Clark
In this presentation, Dr. Luke Clark, Director of the Centre for Gambling Research at UBC, will consider the modern conceptualisation of pathological gambling (or Gambling Disorder) as a behavioural addiction. After briefly reviewing diagnosis and prevalence, the talk will focus on the distorted styles of thinking that occur during gambling, and their neurobiological basis in […]

Arts on Air radio interview with Ira Nadel (3rd December 2014)
Dr. Luke Clark talks about commercial gambling and cultural differences in gambling with Ira Nadel more

UBC News – Centre for Gambling Research opens 2014
Luke Clark will head the new Centre for Gambling Research at UBC. Probing the psychology of gambling, helping problem gamblers and enhancing gaming policy are key goals for the new Centre for Gambling Research at UBC. more

Vancouver Sun – Gambling research centre opens at UBC (with video)
Reducing the harm associated with problem gambling is one of the research areas the new Centre for Gambling Research at the University of B.C. will focus on, according to its director. Luke Clark said Wednesday that the centre is one of a handful of gambling research centres in the world with a “casino lab.” Clark […]

BBC – Can we become addicted to technology?
Through smartphones, tablets, laptops and their apps, technology now influences almost every aspect of our lives, and many fear that this digital way of life can be dangerously addictive. more

Daily Mail – Scientists pinpoint part of the brain linked to addiction
Scientists think that when this brain area is overactive, the heart rules our head and we can’t help but chase our losses. The Cambridge University researchers said: ‘Future treatments for gambling addiction could seek to reduce this hyperactivity, either by drugs or psychological techniques.’ more

Independent – The gambler’s fallacy explained? Misguided belief in the big win just around the corner could be down to brain activity
A study has identified a region of the brain that appears to play a critical role in supporting the distorted thinking which makes people more likely to gamble because they mistakenly think they have a better-than-average chance of winning. more

University of Cambridge News – New study reveals scale of problem gambling among homeless population
Homeless people are ten times more likely to be problem gamblers than the UK population as a whole, researchers at Cambridge have found. more

UBC News – Gambling research pioneer to lead new centre at UBC
Luke Clark will lead the Centre for Gambling Research at UBC. Photo: UBC Psychology. Leading gambling psychologist Luke Clark will join the University of British Columbia’s Dept. of Psychology as inaugural director of the Centre for Gambling Research at UBC to advance research and understanding of problem gambling behaviours. Clark, who led the U.K.’s largest […]

Globe and Mail – A researcher tries to make sense of problem gambling
Luke Clark is a faculty member from the University of Cambridge’s psychology department was named the first director of the new Centre for Gambling Research at the University of British Columbia. more

Vancouver Sun – UBC hires British expert for Centre for Gambling Research
VANCOUVER – Luke Clark was named Tuesday as the inaugural director of the Centre for Gambling Research at the University of B.C. The centre was established last February with a $2-million grant from the B.C. Lottery Corp. and the provincial government. Considered a global expert in the psychology of gambling, Clark has studied the distorted […]