Gamblor’s World

By JO CIAVAGLIA, Bucks County Courier Times, December 23, 2006 9:35 AM

Casino opponents call slot machines the “crack cocaine of gambling” — a cheap, fast, easy high.

The sweet sound of slot machine bells and whistles is intoxicating. A bigger win is only one pull away. Just one more quarter becomes just one more dollar, one more ATM stop, one more cash advance on the credit card.

That’s how casual gamblers turn into problem gamblers and problem gamblers turn into compulsive ones, gambling experts say.

The extent that Pennsylvania’s 14 slot parlors, including the 2,200 machines at Philadelphia Park Casino in Bensalem, which opened Tuesday, will aggravate gambling addiction is a largely unstudied national issue, experts say.

Governments and the gaming industry are unwilling and unable to fund any serious study of the long-term social impacts when gaming laws are enacted or expanded, said Keith White. He’s the executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling Inc. in Washington D.C.

“We can’t tell you as much as we’d like,” he said.

The problem is that, over the last 30 years, every time a jurisdiction expands its gambling laws, no serious attempt is made to survey social groups before and again after gambling laws go into effect, White said. Without a baseline survey, he added, it’s impossible to accurately gauge the social impacts of gambling.

“Pennsylvania is doing the exact same thing,” White said.

Gambling addiction is a serious behavioral health disorder, but one that affects a tiny portion of the adult population, which makes them a harder group to research. And while an estimated 80 percent of Americans gambled once in the past year, only an estimated 2 percent to 5 percent are problem gamblers, studies show.

What is clear is that there will be negative impacts, though on a state or national level the impact is hard to measure because the problem is severe, but small, White said.

Recently, the Des Moines Register newspaper published a five-year study that found that people living in counties with casinos were 21 percent more likely to file for bankruptcy than those in other areas of that state.

Social indicators, including bankruptcy filings, might rise in some states, but not others. The reason is that the number of pathological gamblers is so small, chances are it won’t have a substantial impact on the rates, White said.

The biggest social impact of problem gamblers is on the individuals and their families, White said. For instance, an estimated 70 percent of pathological gamblers have committed a crime to support their habit.

One of the most extensive studies, the federally funded National Gambling Impact Study, found an increased likelihood of divorce, child abuse and neglect among gamblers. Among the problem gamblers surveyed, 28 percent said their addiction had led to divorce or spousal separation.

The commission also reported that, “Children of compulsive gamblers are often prone to suffer abuse, as well as neglect, as a result of parental problem or pathological gambling.”

GAMBLING EVERYTHING

Julius H. nearly lost his house, filed for bankruptcy and emptied his family’s savings to support his addiction. The 59-year-old said he started gambling in 1980. Ten years later, he put his first quarter in a slot machine.

Within a decade, his life was a financial shambles, though if you had asked him then, he would have said everything was fine.

“I thought I was just having a problem losing,” he said. “I didn’t see gambling as a problem because I was deeply immersed in it. People who aren’t addicted to gambling, they don’t understand it, they really don’t.”

His financial situation and wife convinced him to seek help. He joined Gamblers Anonymous six years ago, and continues to attend two meetings a week. He also acts as a spokesman for the Philadelphia G.A. chapter.

While Julius said he liked almost any kind of gambling, slot machines were a particular lure for him. He’d spend six to eight hours at a time in front of machines.

“It was an escape from reality. It’s mindless. You put the money in and you have no control over it. You don’t have to think. You don’t have to make any decisions,” he said. “You don’t have to think. All you need is money in your pocket.”

For some gamblers, the lure of a new machine is irresistible, he added. That’s one reason the regional G.A. chapter is sure its meeting attendance will climb once gambling is in full swing in Philadelphia.

FINDING HELP

With its immediate gratification, slot machines appear especially addictive; regular slot players tend to progress faster into compulsive gambling than those who play the horses or table games, experts say.

That’s why states and other jurisdictions need to have support systems in place for problem gamblers before gaming is expanded, which rarely happens, said White.

Pennsylvania, which saw its first slot casino open in November, has some gambling addiction services.

As of December, gamblers can voluntarily bar themselves from slot casinos, though the State Gaming Control Board won’t say how many gamblers have done it. “Providing these figures at an early stage can affect whether persons want to come forward and request that they have their name placed on the list,” board spokesman Doug Harbach said.

The state health department opened its problem gambler hot line Dec. 8, but it’s not staffed 24 hours. The state is also months away from establishing a procedure to subsidize gambling addiction treatment services.

Existing gambling addict support groups are bracing to pick up the slack, but they’re working on shoestring budgets. The Philadelphia-based Council on Compulsive Gambling of Pennsylvania sometimes uses a recording because it lacks the money to staff the telephone at all times.

The state health department has been authorized to use $1.5 million minimum earmarked for gambling addiction services to reimburse public and private treatment agencies.

“It’s a beginning,” said Jim Pappas, executive director of the Council on Compulsive Gambling. “I’m just hoping they continue to work with us to address the issue.”

The council is negotiating with the state for funding so it can expand services and staffing in anticipation of the slots surge, Pappas said. This year, his operating budget is $180,000. Pappas declined to say how much more his group is requesting.

What he will say is that he anticipates an increase in demand for assistance.

When Powerball lottery came to Pennsylvania in 2002, Pappas said his group saw a 6 percent spike in helpline calls — which average about 20 a day. That spike has yet to recede, he added.

For years, Philadelphia Park’s horseracing track has printed gambling hot line numbers on betting tickets and displayed posters promoting gambling help hot lines throughout its venue, Pappas said. Park employees are also trained to spot signs of problem gambling, he added.

Last Friday, new Philadelphia Park employees attended an orientation on compulsive gambling issues, a requirement under the state slots law before the casino could open. The session was videotaped and will be part of future employee orientations, Pappas said.

On opening day Tuesday, signs advertising where problem gamblers can get help were found throughout the two-story building including the ATM and ticket redemption machines, another state requirement. Brochures containing similar information were stacked at the cash-out booths.

Philadelphia Park also has information at its main entrance security podium for customers who want to ban themselves from casinos.

Help for gamblers and others affected

Langhorne Gamblers Anonymous meets at 7:45 p.m. Tuesdays at Frankford Hospitals’ Bucks campus, 380 Oxford Valley Road, Falls.

Local Gam-Anon support meetings for those affected by gambling are held at 8 p.m. Tuesdays at the hospital.

TO GET HELP WITH A GAMBLING PROBLEM

In Pennsylvania: 800 848-1880

Gamblers Anonymous in Philadelphia: 215-468-1991

Pennsylvania Health Department problem gambling hot line: 1-877-565-2112. The line is staffed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. After hours, callers may leave a message that will be returned on the next business day.

For more information about banning yourself from a Pennsylvania slots casino, log onto the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board Web site at http://www.pgcb.state.pa.us/.

Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at 215-949-4181 or jciavaglia@phillyBurbs.com.

©2006 Copyright Calkins Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

ED: The ‘tiny’ percentage of gamblers that develop into problem/compulsive/pathological gamblers is very misleading (2 to 5%) as these statistics are based on prevalence studies that look at all forms of gambling. If prevalence studies only include EGM gamblers (slots/VLTs) the percentage of problem gamblers would be triple (and research by Drs. Harold Wynne and Gary Smith in Alberta, as well as Focal Research in Nova Scotia, indicates this). Even if one takes the misleading figure of 2 to 5% (which adds up to be a substantial number of individuals in Canada and the US), if one also adds the 10 to 14 people that are negatively harmed by an individual’s problem gambling the numbers become much more significant. One hears this 2 to 5% mantra repeated over and over again without question or substance … journalists rarely discuss alcohol or drug abuse in terms of percentages of the affected population (10% would be a common statistic for alcohol abuse). This kind of media messaging serves the government/gambling industry duopoly.