We suppose it was inevitable, given that gambling is being ingrained into nearly every facet of American society. But when it was recently confirmed that Delta Airlines is exploring the possibility of inflight real-money casino gaming and sports betting, mental health providers across the nation were taken aback.
Sure, passengers who connect to inflight WiFi may already be able to access gambling sites from their phones with or without a virtual private network (VPN), but should airlines facilitate the activity? There is a lot of baggage to carry-on to the conversation about whether or not inflight gambling should be tolerated, much less promoted by airlines. What exactly will this look like when considering U.S. states without legal sports betting and casino gaming? Will iGaming be temporarily disabled when flying over Utah (where gambling is illegal) from Wyoming en route to Nevada? And what about the fact that the activity is technically illegal on US commercial aircraft under the 1962 Gambling Devices Act? We’ll leave that up to the airlines and the regulators, but what we are qualified to weigh in on, are the mental and behavioral health risks associated with the allowance, or outright promotion of, inflight gambling. Please keep reading.
Why Airlines Have a Responsibility to Reconsider Inflight Gambling and What Can be Done to Protect Vulnerable Passengers
Unhealthy Coping Mechanism for Elevated Anxiety
Numerous bodies of research confirm what most people already know – anxiety levels are elevated during air travel, particularly when triggers for anxiety are present. Triggers range from the normal acts of take-off and landing in addition to other factors like flight delays, turbulence, and the cabin environment (interactions with other passengers, air temperature, et cetera). This anxiety is felt with even greater ferocity for those who have an intense fear of flying known as aviophobia, which is a highly prevalent psychological phenomenon that afflicts up to 40% of the population of industrialized countries such as the United States.
Passengers turn to activities to cope with anxiety, with online gambling potentially being one such activity. This may seem like a solution, and could very well be a misguided motivation to add casino gaming and sports betting to inflight entertainment. However, the presence of anxiety among passengers is problematic for airlines considering inflight gambling. Studies confirm the lifetime prevalence for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) among problem gamblers at rates of between 11.2 and 16.6%. This is significantly larger than the 3% prevalence of GAD in America’s general population. Further, gambling can inflate symptoms of anxiety, which for the intent and purpose of today’s discussion, include the following:
- Constant worry and inability to relax during a flight
- Inability to sleep during a long flight
- Chronic headaches
- Constant sweating (even hot flashes)
- Trembling and twitching
- Shortness of breath
- Nausea
- Frequent urination (aka “anxious peeing”) causing a passenger to get up and use the bathroom more often than normal.
- Loss of concentration and focus
- Compromised decision making ability
- Easily startled
- Anger and irritability (more on this below)
Do airlines really want to create an environment that increases potential for the above emotions and behaviors to manifest during flights? View more on anxiety and gambling, right here.
Gambling Related Air Rage Puts Everyone at Risk
It’s important to draw further attention to one of the symptoms of anxiety above – anger and irritability. Research suggests that anger levels while flying (referred to as air rage) can be significantly influenced by the same stressors addressed above (delays, environmental conditions, etc.) along with psychological factors like mild-to-severe levels of anxiety, claustrophobia, and aviophobia. Air rage can lead to emotional outbursts and physical altercations with fellow passengers and flight attendants, and thus every measure must be taken to mitigate the potential for air rage.
Airlines need to understand the link between gambling behavior and anger/irritability and mood swings. Studies indicate that problem gamblers report higher levels of both state and trait anger compared to non-gamblers. Given that problematic gambling behavior has a prevalence rate of between 2-7% for the American population (who are also airline passengers) it’s clear that airlines must rethink their stance regarding the allowance of inflight gambling. If that data alone doesn’t deter motivation, consider further research on air rage incidents which finds that over 76% of unruly passengers are male, predominantly aged 30–39 years, which is a demographic that directly aligns with problematic gambling behavior. View more on anger and gambling, right here.
Dangerous Cocktail with Inflight Alcohol
Studies have found that inflight alcohol consumption is estimated to play a role in 50 to 75% of reported air rage incidents. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) report that approximately 20% to 30% of problem gamblers report having substance abuse issues, with alcohol dependence in particular being frequently observed in those with gambling problems. Airlines who add gambling to an already high-stressor environment while serving alcohol are shaking-up a very dangerous cocktail for vulnerable passengers.
Onboarding Gambling Culture Even Further Into America’s Mainstream
Lastly, can we all just admit that adding online casino gaming and sports betting to yet another of America’s daily experiences is just a bad idea? Among the harms that gambling has on society (view here) are the negative environments it has the potential to create for households, workplaces, sporting event venues, and other gathering places. Why tinker with air travel too? Can Americans not navigate a two-hour flight from JFK to CHS, or a six-hour Pacific hurdle from LAX to HNL, without being triggered to lose money and experience other proven consequences? Let’s keep the friendly skies, friendly, and supportive of mental health.
What Airlines Should Consider
Not proactively integrating online gambling into the inflight experience is a start. Further, airlines may consider blocking access to gambling sites over their respective WiFi networks in the same manner that they do (or should) for websites that stream sexually explicit content. But if certain airlines insist upon offering inflight gambling, they are encouraged to also invest in software applications that connect passengers to live chats on a virtual mental health platform that specializes in problem gambling. The provider can intervene in realtime to address a vulnerable passenger’s compulsion to gamble and/or when they exhibit negative emotions while flying. Or, if live chat is not viable, the provision of a digital guidebook. Such a guidebook can assist a passenger with mindfulness exercises to deal with the trigger to gamble and the negative emotions that they may experience inflight.
Airlines are encouraged to solicit the services of a America’s leading problem gambling research and support provider (Kindbridge) to discuss options. Together, we can offer passengers access to a convenient and effective mental health platform that can be accessed over Wifi networks from anywhere at any time, including when 30,000 feet in the air.
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Are you a frequent flyer who struggles with problematic gambling behavior? Connect to a Kindbridge care coordinator before booking your next flight to ensure that you board with greater peace of mind.
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CALL +1 (877) 426-4258
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