Psychology of Bipolar Gambling: Why Mania Makes You Risk It All | Dr. Luke Clark | #talkBD EP 46 🎰 - News & Events

What happens when mania meets a casino – or a gambling app?

Award-winning gambling researcher Dr. Luke Clark breaks down the science on why bipolar disorder and gambling are so closely linked, why gambling can feel completely rational during mania, and how modern gambling apps exploit the brain’s reward system. Dr. Clark also identifies the highest-risk forms of gambling for people with bipolar disorder and shares evidence-based treatments, practical tools, and strategies to reduce gambling-related harm.

Chapters & Timestamps

00:00 Why Is Bipolar Disorder Linked to Gambling?
04:03 Why Gambling Feels Rational During Mania
09:26 How Gambling Apps Hijack the Bipolar Brain
15:45 Top 3 Most Dangerous Forms of Gambling for Bipolar
21:32 Treatments for Bipolar Gambling

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Dr. Luke Clark is a global expert on the psychology of gambling. He joined UBC’s Department of Psychology as the inaugural Director of the Centre for Gambling Research at UBC in 2014. Before moving to UBC, he held a tenured appointment in the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge. Dr. Clark’s research examines the cognitive and behavioural basis of gambling, and the relevance of these processes to gambling harm and behavioural addiction. His research is distinctive in considering both the personal risk factors for gambling problems, and the psychological effects of modern gambling products. His work combines in lab and online data collection, behavioural analysis, and measurement of psychophysiological responses, including brain imaging.

He has published over 200 papers in leading peer-reviewed journals in addiction science, cognitive neuroscience, and mental health, and he has given keynote talks at conferences in Australia, Germany, UK, USA and Sweden. His contributions have been recognized by the Scientific Achievement Award from the International Center for Responsible Gaming (2015) and a UBC Killam Research Award (2021). He holds federal funding from NSERC. In 2023, he was appointed Co-Editor-in-Chief at the journal International Gambling Studies.