Professor Alex Blaszczynski

Professor Alex Blaszczynski, APAGS Honorary President, B.A. (Econ) (University of NSW), M.A. (University of Sydney), Dip. Psych. (University of Sydney), Ph.D. (University of NSW), Member of Australian Psychological Society, College of Clinical Psychologists, and NSW Psychologists Registration Board.

Professor Blaszczynski is a Professor of Clinical Psychology, University of Sydney; a Co-Director of the University of Sydney’s Gambling Research Unit; and the Director of the Gambling Treatment Centre.  He is a researcher and clinical psychologist with a long history of involvement in treatment and clinical research covering a range of impulse control disorders, in particular, pathological gambling. 

Professor Blaszczynski has published extensively on the topic of gambling, carried out randomized treatment outcomes studies using behavioral interventions, and assessed the prevalence of depression and suicidality, and the relationship between crime, gambling, and the personality characteristics of impulsivity and sensation-seeking in pathological gamblers.  He has developed a conceptual pathways model explaining the etiology of pathological gamblers, evaluated the impact of changes to the design of electronic gaming machines, and in conjunction with collaborators from Harvard and Laval universities, developed policy guidelines for the Australian Gaming Council.  He has authored or co-authored books, scientific articles, reports, and papers; conducted numerous training workshops; and served as chairman of the Working Party for the Australian Psychological Society and a committee member of the Australian Medical Association’s position papers on problem gambling. He has held a number of research grants, including a National Health and Medical Research Council grant, a Criminology Research Council of the Australian Institute of Criminology grant, and grants from the NSW Casino Community Benefit Fund and Queensland Treasury.

He is a founding member of the Australian National Council for Problem Gambling and of the National Association for Gambling Studies, and a foundation director of the Australian Institute of Gambling Studies. He is on the Advisory Board of the International Centre for the Study, Treatment and Prevention of Youth Gambling Problems, McGill University, Canada, and is a member of the International Advisory Committee for the Electronic Journal of Gambling Issues and for the International Journal of Mental Health and Addictions.  He is the editor of International Gambling Studies and a regional assistant editor of Addictions. Professor Blaszczynski is undertaking collaborative research with the researchers at Laval, McGill, and Rutgers universities.

In 1995, Professor Blaszczynski was a co-recipient of the American Council on Problem Gambling Directors Award, and in 2004, he received the National Center for Responsible Gambling Senior Investigator Research Award for his work in the field of pathological gambling.

Contact Information:
Email: alex.blaszczynski@sydney.edu.au
Tel: +61 2 9351 2865