Problem Gambling Severity Index

The Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI), originally developed as part of the Canadian Problem Gambling Index, is a widely used and well-validated…

Questions: 9
Duration: 2 min
Original title: PGSI — Problem Gambling Severity Index
Adaptation: Problem Gambling Severity Index
Authors: Ferris, J. & Wynne, H.
Created: 2001

The Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI), originally developed as part of the Canadian Problem Gambling Index, is a widely used and well-validated screening instrument designed to evaluate gambling-related behaviors and harms over the past 12 months.

Built for use in the general population, it has become a staple in clinical settings to assess the severity of gambling issues and stratify risk. For mental-health clinicians, the PGSI serves as a practical baseline to anchor conversations about gambling, a behavior often hidden due to shame or cognitive distortions like all-or-nothing thinking. By assessing both behavioral symptoms and concrete psychosocial consequences, it provides a holistic picture of the client's current situation.

As a repeatable measure, it allows clinicians to monitor behavioral changes over the course of therapy. While not a standalone diagnostic tool, it reliably identifies individuals whose habits warrant a deeper exploration of their adaptive vs maladaptive coping and a comprehensive clinical assessment for Gambling Disorder.

Example result

Fictitious result, computed from a sample set of answers.

Overall score

12/ 27

Self-report screening questionnaire measuring the severity of problematic gambling behaviors over the past 12 months. Developed for the general population, it identifies non-problem, low-risk, moderate-risk, and problem gamblers. It corresponds to the 9 scored items of the CPGI, also known as the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI).

0–0

None / No risk

1–4

Low risk

5–7

Moderate risk

8–27

Problematic

Problematic severity gambling behaviours.

Scoring

Simple sum, total score ranging from 0 to 27, each item is scored on a 4-point scale (from 0 to 3).

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What the test measures

The PGSI captures both the behavioral patterns of problematic gambling and the adverse psychosocial consequences that result from it. The nine items map onto several core clinical dimensions:

Impaired control: Betting more than one can afford and chasing losses.
Tolerance: Needing to gamble with increasingly larger amounts of money to achieve the desired psychological effect.
Financial harm: Borrowing money, selling personal items, or causing household financial problems.
Psychological distress: Experiencing guilt, stress, or anxiety, which often triggers automatic behaviors to escape the emotional pain.
Social impact: Facing interpersonal friction and external criticism regarding gambling habits.
Self-awareness: The individual's own perception of having a gambling problem, a critical factor when building discrepancy during motivational interviewing.

The instrument is validated for adults in the general population who have gambled within the past year.

When and why to use it

Clinicians utilize the PGSI to reliably screen for gambling issues and track symptom progression during treatment.

Intake screening: To detect minimized or undisclosed gambling behaviors when a client presents with unexplained financial stress, anxiety, or relationship conflict.
Risk stratification: To determine whether a client's habits fall into a low, moderate, or problematic risk category, guiding the intensity of the clinical intervention.
Progress monitoring: To evaluate changes in gambling severity as the client works on building new habits across therapy sessions.
Treatment planning: To highlight specific areas of harm that require targeted clinical focus, often tracked between sessions using a weekly behavioral review.

Using a validated score grounds clinical impressions in standardized data, clearly distinguishing recreational gambling from patterns that cause significant psychosocial and financial harm.

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The questions

Thinking about the past 12 months, how often have you experienced the following?
1. Have you bet more than you could really afford to lose?
This item evaluates impaired financial boundaries and the fundamental loss of control over gambling expenditures.
- Never
- Sometimes
- Most of the time
- Almost always
2. Have you needed to gamble with larger amounts of money to get the same feeling of excitement?
This probes the development of behavioral tolerance, a core addiction mechanism requiring escalating stakes for the same psychological payoff.
- Never
- Sometimes
- Most of the time
- Almost always
3. Have you gone back another day to try to win back the money you lost?
This assesses "chasing losses," a hallmark behavioral loop that drives compulsive gambling and deepening debt.
- Never
- Sometimes
- Most of the time
- Almost always
4. Have you borrowed money or sold anything to get money to gamble?
This highlights desperate financial measures and the severity of resource depletion used to sustain the behavior.
- Never
- Sometimes
- Most of the time
- Almost always
5. Have you ever felt that you might have a problem with gambling?
This captures the client's level of insight and internal recognition of their struggling relationship with gambling.
- Never
- Sometimes
- Most of the time
- Almost always
6. Has gambling caused you any health problems, including stress or anxiety?
This measures the psychological and somatic toll of the gambling cycle on the client's overall well-being.
- Never
- Sometimes
- Most of the time
- Almost always
7. Have people criticized your gambling or told you that you had a gambling problem, whether or not you thought it was true?
This identifies interpersonal friction and external feedback regarding the client's behavior, which often precedes personal insight.
- Never
- Sometimes
- Most of the time
- Almost always
8. Has your gambling caused any financial problems for you or your household?
This evaluates the concrete, broader economic fallout of the gambling behavior on the client's family system.
- Never
- Sometimes
- Most of the time
- Almost always
9. Have you felt guilty about the way you gamble or what happens when you gamble?
This probes the emotional aftermath of the behavior, highlighting the shame and regret that often fuel the cycle.
- Never
- Sometimes
- Most of the time
- Almost always