Screening instruments and scales
The instruments that appear again and again in gambling studies, with what they measure, how long they are, and whether they can be used without a licence.
Licensing notes are from the authors' own statements and the literature; confirm before building a study or a clinical tool on an instrument. "Free with citation" means the authors have said so publicly.
Problem-gambling severity and screening
| Instrument | Authors | Items and timeframe | What it gives | Licence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) | Ferris and Wynne, 2001 (from the Canadian Problem Gambling Index) | 9 items; past 12 months; scored 0 to 27 | Four bands: non-problem (0), low risk (1 to 2), moderate risk (3 to 7), problem gambling (8 or more). The standard population and treatment measure worldwide | Free with citation to Ferris and Wynne (2001) and no charge to users |
| Brief Problem Gambling Screen (BPGS) | Volberg and Williams, 2012 | 5 items | Screen derived from the PPGM for surveys | Free with citation |
| Problem and Pathological Gambling Measure (PPGM) | Williams and Volberg, 2010 | 14 items | Classification that requires both problems and impaired control; used in Canadian and Massachusetts surveys | Free with citation |
| South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) | Lesieur and Blume, 1987 | 20 items; lifetime or past year | The older standard; over-identifies in general populations | Free |
| NODS and NODS-CLiP | Gerstein and colleagues, 1999; Toce-Gerstein, Gerstein and Volberg, 2009 | 17 items; CLiP is 3 items (control, lying, preoccupation) | DSM-IV-based; CLiP is a fast clinical screen | Free |
| Brief Biosocial Gambling Screen (BBGS) | Gebauer, LaBrie and Shaffer, 2010 | 3 items; past 12 months | Withdrawal, lying, financial bailout; derived from NESARC | Free |
| Lie/Bet Questionnaire | Johnson and colleagues, 1997 | 2 items | The shortest screen; useful in primary care | Free |
| DSM-5 gambling disorder criteria | American Psychiatric Association, 2013 | 9 criteria; past 12 months | Four or more = gambling disorder; mild (4 to 5), moderate (6 to 7), severe (8 to 9). Structured interviews exist (for example the GDIT) | Criteria are copyrighted text; clinical use is standard |
| Gambling Disorder Identification Test (GDIT) | Molander and colleagues, 2021 | 9 items | Consumption, symptoms and negative consequences, modelled on the AUDIT | Free with citation |
| Victorian Gambling Screen | Ben-Tovim and colleagues, 2001 | 21 items | Harm-to-self subscale is the usual scoring | Free |
Harm
| Instrument | Authors | Items | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short Gambling Harm Screen (SGHS) | Browne and colleagues, 2018 | 10 items; past 12 months | Counts harms rather than symptoms; widely used in Australia and increasingly elsewhere |
| Gambling Harms Scale (72-item inventory and short forms) | Browne, Langham and colleagues, 2016 onward | 72 items across financial, relationship, emotional, health, work and other domains | The source list from which the SGHS was drawn; affected-other versions exist |
Cognitions, motives and urges
| Instrument | Authors | Items | What it measures |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gambling Related Cognitions Scale (GRCS) | Raylu and Oei, 2004 | 23 items | Illusion of control, predictive control, interpretive bias, gambling expectancies, inability to stop |
| Gamblers' Beliefs Questionnaire (GBQ) | Steenbergh and colleagues, 2002 | 21 items | Luck and perseverance, illusion of control |
| Gambling Motives Questionnaire (GMQ) and GMQ-Financial | Stewart and Zack, 2008; Dechant, 2014 | 15 items (GMQ-F adds financial motives) | Enhancement, coping, social and financial motives |
| Gambling Urge Scale (GUS) | Raylu and Oei, 2004 | 6 items | Current urge; sensitive to change in treatment |
| Gambling Symptom Assessment Scale (G-SAS) | Kim, Grant and colleagues, 2009 | 12 items; past week | Trial outcome measure for urges, thoughts and behaviour |
| Gambling Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (GSEQ) | May and colleagues, 2003 | 16 items | Confidence to resist gambling in high-risk situations |
| Positive Play Scale | Wood, Wohl, Tabri and Philander, 2017 | 14 items | Responsible-gambling beliefs and behaviours |
Newer domains
| Instrument | Authors | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Trading Disorder Scale | Coloma-Carmona and colleagues, 2025 (Journal of Behavioral Addictions) | First validated measure of gambling-like trading; pairs with the PGSI, which asks about gambling rather than trading |
| Risky Loot Box Index (RLI) | Brooks and Clark, 2019 | Loot-box purchasing and its links to problem gambling |
| Problem Gambling Severity Index adapted for sports betting | Various | No consensus adaptation exists; most studies use the PGSI unchanged and add product-specific items |
| Prediction-market and event-contract measures | None validated as of 2026 | A gap; the PGSI with product items is the current practice |
Affected others
Instruments for partners and family members are fewer. Affected-other versions of the gambling harm checklists exist (Browne, Rockloff and colleagues); the PGSI has been administered as a "concerned significant other" report in some surveys; and family-impact measures from the alcohol field have been adapted. Expect to justify the choice.
Using an instrument in a public tool
Posting a scored screen on a website is clinical publishing. Three things keep it defensible: use the instrument's exact items and scoring, cite the authors as they ask, and present results as a screen rather than a diagnosis ("the score is in the range associated with problem gambling", never "you have gambling disorder"). The PGSI's authors ask that it stay free of charge wherever it is used.
Corrections welcome at editor@gambling-research.com.