Jeffrey Derevensky was awarded the Lifetime Research Award by the U.S. National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG), in recognition of his exceptional achievements in the field of gambling research. Derevensky is Director of the International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High-Risk Behaviours at the Faculty of Education,
Founded in 1992, the Centre for Youth Gambling Problems has been at the forefront of leading-edge research aimed at identifying the critical factors related to youth gambling issues. The centre has developed award-winning prevention programs and worked in cooperation with government agencies around the world to develop responsible gambling initiatives and legislation.
Derevensky is James McGill Professor and Chair with the Faculty of Education’s Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology. He is co-appointed as Professor with McGill’s Department of Psychiatry, and is Co-Director of the McGill Institute for Human Development and Well-Being (IHDW). Derevensky’s work with gambling problems among children and adolescents has resulted in important social policy and governmental changes.
The award was presented to Derevensky on July 21, 2017 at the NCPG’s annual conference in Portland, Oregon. This Lifetime Research Award, bestowed only in exceptional times and circumstances, is an honour reserved for “individuals who exemplify at least twenty years of research in the field of gambling studies” whose work has had a “profound impact on the study of gambling”.