March 18, 1999
Web posted at: 12:18 a.m. EST (0518 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN)-- In any year, 1.8 million adults in the United States can be classified as "pathological gamblers" unable "to resist impulses to gamble," according to a new study by the National Research Council.

The study, to be presented to the National Gambling Impact Study Commission on Thursday around 3:30 p.m. EST, says the problem is "significant enough" to warrant funding for more comprehensive research than currently exists.

"More people are gambling, and they are waging more," the study says.

More than 80 percent of American adults have gambled in some form in their lifetime. Gambling of some type is legal in all but three states. Computer technology has increased the accessibility of gambling.

The study calls for an assessment of the costs and benefits of gambling, noting that there are "net economic benefits for economically depressed communities."

But the committee "could not determine how legalized gambling affects community or national rates of suicide and crime," the report says.

The study suggests that "pathological gamblers who seek treatment generally improve," but notes the research is limited.

The National Gambling Impact Study Commission is to make its final report in June.

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